Snow White & the 9 Akatsuki
by UndeadScribe
Summary: What do the Akatsuki do when a young woman shows up on their -secret- doorstep and offers to be their housekeeper? Mostly... She drives them insane. Odd Snow White story. T for later chapters. Eventual Deidara x OC. Better then summary. COMPLETE.
1. Chapter 1

**Authors Note: So... something longer. I guess the only question is... IS IT ANY GOOD?**

**I would love it if y'all would share your opinions with me on the quality of this fic.**

**Partial credit for the oc and the premise of the story goes to one of my little sisters. As does the Couch of Despair. Which will be explained later.**

**-Clears throat-**

**On with the story!**

**The main story line is kinda based on Snow White. But don't expect it be very similar.**

**Oh yeah, this isn't really meant to be taken very seriously... after all, in the actual Naruto verse, they would have simply killed her dead. This is one of those stories that is supposed to lighten your heart! Make you laugh!**

**I'm just kidding. I do hope that y'all like it though.**

**Apologies in advance for any oocness and grammatical errors.  
**

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO! If I did, a happy ending would be**

**guaranteed. :D  
**

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"Now."

"Oof!"

Grumbles of discontent filled the room as the two men tried to wrestle the long couch into position, "Remind me again why we're doing this, hmm?" Deidara groused as he dropped his end of the couch on Hidan's foot.

"Owww! That hurt!"

The blond man regarded him with a blank look for a moment, then turned back to Itachi, ignoring Hidan in favor of getting an answer; Hidan growled, "Now look here, you-"

The Uchiha cut him off, disregarding the man's expression of rage as he did, "Pain wants it in front of the Tv." He said in a flat monotone.

The other two Akatsuki members looked at each other in confusion, forgetting their argument for the moment, "What Tv?" Hidan asked suspiciously, giving the Uchiha a sideways look.

"The one you're going to help hook up."

"Aggh! Of _course _I have to help hook it up! Who else could possibly do anything around here!"

"Shut up, Hidan." A voice broke through Hidan's ranting, effectively stopping Deidara joining in before he could.

"Go away, Kakuzu! And quit telling me to shut up!"

Kakuzu shrugged and walked back the way he came.

"Hmph." The immortal crossed his arms over his chest and sulked.

"Deidara."

The blond turned to where the puppet master stood in the hallway, "Hmm?"

"Go answer the door," the red-head ordered, "Someone's out there."

"What? You do it!"

"No." Sasori said, and walked past them through the opposite door in the direction of his room.

"Arrgh..." Deidara stalked to the front door, muttering indignant insults under his breath; he jerked the door open, expecting a woman with purple hair and paper flowers... and _tea_, then stopped, staring in shock, "Hey! Who are you? You're not Konan!"

The young woman standing in the door smiled, "Hi!" She said cheerfully, "I'm your new cleaning lady!"

She breezed past the open- mouthed Deidara, a mop over one shoulder and a bucket swinging from her other hand. "Stop!" He said, "You've made a huge mistake here!"

She turned, her smile widening, now showing teeth, "Nope, no mistake. You really need a housekeeper." Her smile turned to a frown as she surveyed the room, "Worse then I thought..." She muttered, running a finger over a nearby shelf; she held it up for the blond to see, dust coated her fingertip, and a clean streak showed on the shelf.

"Hey! Who's she?"

Deidara whirled around, "I don't know!"

Hidan shrugged, "Just askin'. You know Pain isn't gonna like her being here."

"I know that, yeah!"

"Deidara." The low voice originated from behind them and the two Akatsuki jumped straight up in the air, "Who is that?"

Hidan hightailed it through the open door at the sound of Pain's voice, leaving the bomber to face their Leader.

Deidara turned to toward the other ninja, "Umm..." He trailed off, _How to explain? _He shifted his weight from foot to foot, eyes darting around the room.

"Hello." Deidara almost had a heart attack as the girl suddenly spoke from behind him, "My name is Amaya, and I'm your new housekeeper." She turned to her bucket and shouldered it again, "Where is the kitchen?"

Without thinking, Deidara pointed her in the right direction; "Thank you!" She smiled and walked away, blithely ignoring Pain's eyes fixed on her.

The freakish stare was transferred to the blond as the chipper young woman disappeared from sight, "Well?"

"It's not my fault, yeah! She just breezed in like she owned the place!"

Pain sighed, "Fine." He said, turning away, "Just get rid of her."

* * *

"Hey, girl!"

The young woman ignored him, humming merrily to herself as she swished her mop across the kitchen floor.

Deidara's eye twitched, "Don't ignore me, hmm! I'll kill you!"

She mopped on.

The bomber growled wordlessly, "You have to leave."

The girl ignored him, shoving the bucket out of her way as she started toward where Deidara was standing, "Hey!" He yelled, "You're getting water in my sandals!"

Amaya finally looked up at him, an irritated frown marring her features, "Stop whining. They look like they could use it anyway."

"What? Why you-"

"Now, now," She said, taking his arm and steering him out the door, "No need to get so upset. What would you like for supper?"

"Uhh." He blinked, _What? __Abrupt__ subject change?_

"Never mind that," She smiled, "After all, I'm the housekeeper, I'll just see what there is."

The blond recovered enough to jerk his arm from her grasp, "Argh! You can't make supper!" _Why haven't I just killed her?_

She blinked wide eyes at him, "Why ever not?"

"You don't cook for criminals!" Deidara wailed, reaching the end of his short rope, "We're evil! We're gonna take over the world, we can't have a housekeeper!"

"But you have to eat," She said reasonably, "And how is it any different then you cooking your own meals?"

He stared hopelessly at her, _She's crazy. _He bemoaned.

She continued, unaffected by his less then enthusiastic response, "And," She pointed at his painted finger-nails, "You're lucky that no one has gotten over their terror long enough to imagine you painting your nails."

The blond scowled, his face warming as she laughed, she wiped her eyes, still chuckling, "Ahh, that's just funny."

"I could blow her up." He grumbled to himself, and the idea was becoming more and more appealing the longer he talked to her.

"That wouldn't be very nice," Amaya reproached him, "especially after I offered to cook dinner."

Deidara gave up, he banged his against the wall, _Crazy, crazy, crazy. _"I give up," He moaned, "I'll just go ahead and arrange my funeral."

"Aww, it can't be that bad," She actually _patted _him on the shoulder, "I'll convince him to let me stay."

"Good luck with _that_." He muttered, injecting as much sarcasm into his voice as he could.

"Thank you." She said sweetly.

Deidara stared at her, something akin to horror on his face, _She is absolutely insane, hmm?_

_

* * *

_

"Hello again."

The blond jumped as her voice chirped a greeting behind; he spun around, _WHAT? _His jaw dropped, "You're still here." It was more of a statement then a question.

"Of course," She gave him an impish grin that made her look even younger, "I wheedle very well."

He gaped; Pain had let her stay? _Why? _She was tiny, she barely came up to mid-chest on him, how did she convince _Pain _to let her stay?

She looked offended at his slack- jawed expression. Which would have been funny except that he was still in shock. "You didn't think I could, did you?" She asked, indignant.

"Of course not, hmm!"

"Oh well." She shrugged, then beamed at him, "Right! I need to do supper." She propelled him from the kitchen, muttering suggestions on food to herself the whole time.

* * *

The scraping of chairs over the stone floor signaled the beginning of the meal as the nine Akatsuki sat down at the table.

They sat in silence for several long minutes...

"Umm... Where's the food?"

"I thought Konan was here."

Deidara began to slump down in his seat.

"Maybe she's late." Hidan suggested.

"She's never late." Sasori said, leaning back in his chair.

The conversation ceased, as Deidara had known it would, as Amaya strolled into the room. A long moment of silence prevailed... Then everyone aside from Deidara (Already knew), Pain (Ditto), and Itachi (Too darned composed), leaped to their feet.

"Who the heck is she?"

"I thought she was supposed to leave!"

"That was her at the door, wasn't it?"

Deidara slid down the rest of the way in his seat and covered his ears with his hands as the other Akatsuki members got louder with their questions.

Amaya blinked in wonderment at the sheer volume they managed to produce while speaking/ and/ or yelling at the same time.

"Okay!" She shouted, slamming the spoon into the side of the pot, "Does anyone want dinner?"

They turned in unison to look at her; her grin stretched from ear to ear, "Well?"

Their astonished expressions comprised the response she got from them.

"I'm not really sure what this is... I didn't have much to pick from." She paused, "You really need to buy more food... It's mostly noodles... and some meat..." She peered into the pot, "And spices?"

The Akatsuki continued to stare at her as she rambled, too startled to do anything else. After all, how do dangerous criminals, feared around the world, respond to a girl cooking dinner for them, yelling at them, and for her to have willingly come up to their hideout? How had she even found their hideout?

As they sat in shock, she turned to Deidara- still halfway under the table with his hands covering his ears, "You never did tell me your name."

He looked up at her, a question in his face, "What?" His voice was overly loud in the now quiet room.

She heaved a sigh, shaking her head in exasperation, she plunked the pot down on the table and walked over to the blond Shinobi. She pulled his hands from his ears, ignoring the indignant look he gave her as he cringed, expecting to be assaulted with the clamor of everyone speaking at once.

Instead, deathly silence met his ears.

"I asked what your name is."

"Oh." The blond glanced around, obviously wondering how to respond, "Umm... Deidara?"

The small woman grinned, "Okay!" She set a bowl in front of him; he leaned over it, still looking unsure, then a surprised look flitted across his face as he inhaled, "...That smells pretty... good."

She blushed, "Hopefully it tastes good..." She turned back to the pot, dishing out the food into bowls.

Sasori leaned over toward the blond, "You didn't sound sure about your name," He said snidely, "Do you forget it often?"

Deidara glared at him, "Shut up!"

The puppet master shrugged and leaned back in his chair, looking smug.

Amaya placed the food in front of the other members, then gathered up the pot and spoon, and turned to leave.

"Wait."

She turned around, "Yes?"

Kakuzu glowered at her over the top of his mask, "What are you really doing here?"

"Exactly what I said," She replied, "I'm your new housekeeper. My name is Amaya." She shrugged, "That's it." She stood there in the silence, then seemed to think of something, "Speaking of names, I don't know most of yours."

The Akatsuki just looked at her. Until one in a orange swirly mask jumped to his feet, "I'm Tobi." He said, then pointed to each of the other members in turn, "That's Hidan, Kisame, Sasori, Leader, Kakuzu, Deidara, and Itachi."

"Thank you!" She grinned, "Now that we know each others names, I guess that means you won't be forcing me to leave."

The Akatsuki eyed each other, as if still not certain what to do with her.

"Tobi thinks she should stay."

Her grin widened, "I'm glad you agree."

"Tobi doesn't lead us," Kakuzu pointed out, "and imagine the money she would cost us..."

"Hmph. Whoever said I asked for payment? I just asked for a room, and he-" She stabbed a finger at Pain, who regarded her silently, "already said I could stay."

She put her hands on her hips in a 'so, _there_' gesture.

They stared at her, _Who is this girl?_

"Anyway," She said, oblivious to their dismay, "tomorrow I'm going to buy some much needed food..." She waved one hand at the table, "But for now, dinner is served."

* * *

**The end of chapter 1.**

**SO, what'd ya think? Huh? HUH?**

**_Please_ R&R. Constructive criticism, people.**

**Oh. And I wanted to thank everyone who reviewed my other stories. A HUGE thanks! I love reviews!**

**I can't promise speedy updates, but, I'll do my best.**

**And one more thing before I leave, I know that some people don't like ocs. Heck, it has to be a really good oc for me to like 'em. I don't even like some of my own ocs. But, unless it's something that will help me improve her, I would appreciate it if people would avoid flaming her just because she's an oc. And I try not to make Mary-Sue-ish people.**

**See ya,**

**UndeadScribe**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: For those actually reading this... The second chapter is now up. I know it wasn't the speediest update, but I don't write very fast.**

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**Anyway, enjoy!**

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**Disclaimer: I don't own it. Period. All I own is this fic, and any ocs.**

Deidara shuffled slowly down the hallway, _Too early... _He thought, shaking his head in an attempt to banish the fog; then the smell of hot coffee wafted up the corridor to meet him, and he moved a little faster.

"Whoa!"

The blond jerked backwards as the chipper voice exploded next to his ear, "...What?"

The young woman popped up in front of him, and grinned, "Good morning!" She said, "There's coffee in the kitchen, don't mind Itachi, I'm going to go wake up Kisame!"

She flitted off in the direction he had just come from, leaving him standing in a daze as he tried to comprehend the spiel of rapid-fire words she had just thrown at him.

After a moment, he dismissed them, it was far to early to try to work out the way her brain worked.

* * *

Amaya hurried down the winding stone corridors. _You have to wonder why they put it underground... _She shrugged, how does one comprehend the working of the criminal mind?

She paused at a at a junction in the hallway, _Umm... _She looked back and forth between the two halls, _He said... Left?_ She started down the left turn, _Yeah... Left. _

"Hmm... First door on right..." She stopped at the door, "Hah! I got it right!" She reached out and tried the door. "Hrm. It's locked... How come Itachi didn't say anything about that?"

_Wait... _She sighed, _I think he did._

"_I don't think you will be able to get in his room."_

Amaya drooped, "Well, he kinda said it..." The young woman stared at the locked door, "Maybe Itachi has a key... Wait!" She dug into the pocket of her short pants, "Aha!" She pulled out a piece of wire, holding it up triumphantly. "Now! To get inside..."

Bending over the door, she slid the wire into the lock, moving it around until a satisfying click sounded from the lock. "Heehee, this is fun!" She pushed the door open as silently as she could, holding her breath as a squeak came from it.

She crept into the room, her bare feet scuffing across the floor; there was a single bed in the room, and a snoring lump occupied it. _Oh good. The squeaking didn't wake him up._ _If this guy's blue, then it must be him._

The young woman tip-toed over to the bed, leaning over the end of it to see the occupant's face. _Blue skin. Gill thingies... Must be him._

She glanced around the room, searching for any weapons that might fall into the Shinobi's reach. _Not that moving them will make much difference_. The giant wrapped sword that lay by the bed was the most obvious example. Amaya crouched down beside it, "Ooh." She prodded the skull on the end of the hilt, "A skull." She lingered for a moment, "Shiny." She whispered, then pushed the sword away from the bed, using her foot to shove it away.

Then she poked Kisame.

The ninja exploded out of bed; Amaya toppled backwards, giving a squeak of surprise as she hit the floor.

Kisame towered over her, his freakish eyes now open, and glaring at her.

Amaya stared up at him, "...Hi?"

Kisame glowered down at the slight girl sprawled on the floor. What was this person doing in his room? And who was she? He glanced over at where Samehada usually was and found the sword several feet farther away.

"...Hi?"

He looked back at the girl, "Who are you? And what are you doing in here?" _This girl doesn't move like a ninja._

She popped to her feet, "I need your help!" She dusted herself off, "With food!"

"..." _She's from last night. _Kisame went back to glowering at her. She didn't seem to notice, "There's no way I can carry it all. And if I got Deidara he would fall over halfway to town. And Itachi said he was busy, and-"

"Shut up." Kisame growled. _Geez, what is wrong with this girl?_

"Ooh..." A strange gleam entered the girl's eyes, "You have strange teeth... Do you file them? Or were you born that way? That would be weird, I wonder what your mother thought, did she freak out?"

_Doesn't she ever run out of air? _He leaned over her, so that she had to crane her neck almost completely back to see his face, "Get. Out."

"And blue skin." She continued, "That's weird too, and gill thingies, can you breathe underwater?"

He grabbed her shoulder, "I said out!" He spun her around and shoved her out the door.

Kisame propelled her through the door, slamming it shut in her face.

"..." Amaya stared up at the closed door, "That went well..."

"Hmm." She turned around, "Who else can I get to help me...?" She meandered down the hall, "Not Kakuzu, he wouldn't help me spend money. Umm, not... Hidan, he would probably try to kill someone... Tobi? Hmm, maybe." She tested a random door, "Locked. Uhhh... Not... Sasori?" She stopped mid-stride, "Why is there a plant wearing a robe in the middle of the hall?"

She walked a circle around it, "How strange..."

Amaya shrugged, dismissing the strange plant from her mind, "Maybe I should ask Deidara... He's probably awake by now." She turned away from the plant- Was it an Aloe Vera...?- and retraced her steps back to the kitchen.

A few minutes later, after taking a wrong turn and having to go backwards yet again, she made her way back to the kitchen. Itachi was nowhere to be seen; Deidara was sitting alone at the table, his head cushioned in his arms. Faint snores emanated from the blond, proving that he had gone back to sleep.

Amaya drooped, "No help there..."

"Help?"

"Eep!" She jumped, clutching her heart, and spun around to see the orange masked ninja, Tobi. "You scared me..."

He looked as contrite as someone wearing a mask could, "Sorry." He said, scratching the back of his head.

Amaya considered the ninja, "Do you wanna help me?" She asked hopefully, "No one else really seems too..."

The ninja brightened, "Yes!"

"Really?" She clapped her hands together, "Oh, good!"

"G'way..." A sleepy mumble came from the young man sprawled over the table as he buried his face deeper into his arms. Amaya blinked in surprise, and a grin tugged at her mouth. Most people, after all, didn't get to see this side of the dangerous S-class criminals.

* * *

"Isn't it lovely out here?" Amaya breathed in deeply, tilting her head back to let the sun warm her face. Bags hung from her arms, and Tobi carried a box. Both were filled with food- which the Akatsuki had had none of, their kitchen was now bare after last nights supper- and other basic essentials that she had picked up.

_I probably shouldn't tell Kakuzu how much money I spent..._ She motioned to the Shinobi with her, "Let's go back!"

Tobi cheered, "Yes! I'm starving!"

The young woman laughed, "I wonder what y'all ate before I came along..." She shrugged, "No matter! As soon as we return, I'll whip up something real quick."

The two were half-way back to the hideout when a rumbling explosion shook the ground beneath them. Amaya halted, "What was that...?"

"Yeah!"

The young woman looked up at the sky, shading her eyes from the sun as she squinted upward, "...Is that Deidara?"

The ninja was already hopping up and down, waving both arms in the air as he tried to the get the blond's attention, "Deidara-senpai!"

The clay-looking bird that the bomber was standing on swooped downward, passing close enough over their heads to blow Amaya's hair into a disarray. She swiped it out of her face, waving as Deidara landed in front of them.

"Hey!" She set the bags down and ran over to the bird, "Is this alive?" She reached out and poked it, squeaking in surprise as her finger made a dent. "It's mushy."

The blond grinned, his expression maniacal, "This," He gestured proudly, "Is my art!"

Amaya's eyes widened, _Huh?_ "...Art?"

He nodded, still grinning insanely, "Yeah! This explodes!"

"Explodes...?" She stared, "Ohhhh! Is that what that explosion we heard was?"

"Exactly, hmm!" The blond said; he peered past her, "Are you heading home?"

"Yes!" She scurried back to her bags and scooped them up, "Can we ride with you...?"

"Sure!" The bomber apparently didn't want to pass up a chance to brag about his art, he jumped back up onto the bird and held his hand down for her to get up. Tobi linked his hands together, creating a stirrup for her to get with.

Amaya set her foot in his linked hands, having set her bags down again so that she could get up on the bird, and boosted herself upward, grabbing Deidara's hand as soon as it was in reach. The blond tightened his grip and hauled her higher, staggering backwards in surprise as she came up far easier than he expected.

"Whoa!" She yelped, sprawling on the bird behind him.

The blond lost his balance and fell over backwards, barely missing landing on top of the girl.

"Eep!" _I left a dent in the bird. _ She stood, wobbling in place, to help the prone blond up, and his hand snatched her wrist, "Unless you wanna do that all over again," The blond fumed, "You should sit down!"

_How rude. _Amaya crossed her arms over her chest and looked away, _I was just trying to help. _ "Hmph." She plopped down, sitting cross-legged.

A bag dropped in her lap, startling her out of her sulking, "Ack!"

"Haha... Sorry..." The masked ninja rubbed his neck sheepishly, another bag dangling from his hand.

Another moment later the bird was gaining altitude, and Amaya forgot what she had been annoyed about, "Whoa..." She peered over the side of the clay creation, "We're really high." _Oh, look... I think that was a person. _She laughed quietly, no more then a breath of air leaving her mouth, "They looked like a little bug from up here..."

She glanced at the blond at the front of the creature; he was looking at something in his hand, a small... spider...? She scooted closer to the man, _Maybe he isn't mad at me any more. _She peered over his shoulder at the little creature in his hand, "...Does that explode too?"

He jerked, "Don't do that, hmm!" He said, glaring at her from the corner of his eye.

Amaya scrunched backwards, "...Sorry." She turned around, staring up at the clouds, _He doesn't have to be so mean. _

A hand settled on her shoulder and Amaya jumped, "Tobi!" She gasped, "You scared me!"

"..." Tobi stared at her until she began to feel uncomfortable, "What?"

"Don't mind him," The ninja said quietly, "He does that when people startle him."

"Oh." Her voice came out much smaller then she wanted it to.

"I can hear you, hmm." The blond said from behind her, sounding snappish. She sighed, "This is rather awkward now..."

Tobi patted her on the shoulder sympathetically, "We're almost home." He peered below them, "In fact, there's the hideout right there!" Amaya followed his pointing finger toward the ground, and a small laugh escaped, "It looks so little."

The wind blew her hair straight back as they descended, little stray tendrils lashing her face. _Wow, fast. _She stared at the door of the hideout as they got closer, watching it grow larger, until, with a jolt that almost knocked her over, the bird spread its wings and they slowed to a stop, settling to the ground.

Amaya jumped over the side, ignoring Deidara's startled yelp as she hit the ground. She looked up at the bird, "Hey, Tobi! Toss the bags down, please!"

The bags sailed over the top of the clay bird, landing in her outstretched arms, "Oof!" She juggled the bags for a minute, "Thanks!" She trotted over to the door, pulled her foot back, and kicked it.

The muffled thump was barely loud enough that she heard it. The young woman frowned, then kicked it again.

Same results.

She gave a huff of frustration, and tried to juggle the three bags over to one arm. "Eep!" She caught one of the bags just before it slipped from her arms, "Argh." _This isn't working!_

A hand reached past her, and opened the door, "Oh! Thank-"

"Yeah, yeah." The blond brushed past her, _Oh! _Amaya started, _He held the door open. _She hurried through the door, "Thank you!"

The blond released the door; there was a muffled yelp as Tobi collided with it, then it reopened and Tobi dashed inside, lugging the box under one arm, past them into the kitchen.

"Forget it." The blond grumbled, moving past her. Amaya stared after him as he disappeared down the hallway, _I guess he can be nice..._

**I know this chapter might be rather slow, and nothing really happens in it, but things will start speeding up.**

**There will be occasional Japanese honorifics. They might seem out of place, but they're part of the story.**

**Oh. One more thing... Are the POV changes too abrupt? I think it kinda fits the story, but I wasn't sure... So drop a review and tell, please?**

**And a warning, if you can't stand people being even a little OOC then you don't want to read this. Because it's not meant to be taken seriously, and any romance with one of them requires them to be OOC. And that's the story.**

**See ya later. :)**

**~UndeadScribe~**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Well, another slow update, but here it is. So read, and enjoy.**

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**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. All I own is the fic and any ocs therein.**

Amaya swung her legs forward and back, staring up at the clock as she banged her heels against the bottom of her chair in time to the seconds ticking by. She yawned, her eyes squeezing shut.

"What are you doing?"

_Huh?_

"Ack!" Her eyes popped open; her body reflexively jerking backwards. Only... She was sitting on a stool. With no back.

Her head hit the floor as she fell over the back of the stool, the crack resounded through the quiet room.

"Oww..." She curled into a ball, wrapping her arms around her head. "That hurt." She whimpered, closing her eyes again as pain shot through her head.

"That was... interesting." Itachi's voice came from right above her. She cracked one eye open and looked up at him, "That really hurt..." She pushed herself into a sitting position, gingerly rubbing the back of her head.

The dark-haired Akatsuki member hadn't moved yet; Amaya clutched the side of his robe and pulled herself to her feet, ignoring the flat-eyed look she got in return.

"Ouch." She walked over to the freezer, rummaging through it until she came up with a handful of ice. "Hrm." She looked around the room. "Towel, or bag..." She sighed, "I don't know if we have those."

An arm reached over her shoulder and dropped a bag in her hand. "Oh." She turned, "Thank you."

"Hn."

"..." She blinked in surprise, "Is that a word?" She glanced down at the bag, not really expecting an answer, "I bought these yesterday, didn't I?"

"..." Itachi sat at the table, ignoring her in favor of sitting in silence.

"Oh. Okay." She dumped the ice into the bag, sealing it shut and wrapping a towel around it. She pressed it to the back of her head. "Ah. That feels much better."

She plopped back onto her stool, her gaze returning to the clock. _Still not time... _She sighed, "Why does time pass so slow?"

To her surprise, she received an answer, "Stop watching the clock."

"Huh?" She swiveled to face the Akatsuki member, "Why? Does it slow time down?"

"..." He stared at her, then went back to contemplating the table, "Yes."

"Really?" She scootched forward on her seat, perching on the edge, "I didn't know that." She glanced at the clock from the corner of her eye, "So if I don't look at it... Time will pass faster?"

"Yes."

"...That's kinda cool." She turned her back on the clock. And started humming a tune under her breath.

The Uchiha gritted his teeth; she had been humming the same tune for five minutes straight now. And it wouldn't even be considered a real tune.

Not to mention; how could someone be that gullible? She had swallowed the thing about the clock like she was a child. Though come to think of it... He looked over at her. She really didn't look that old. He had no idea about her age.

"What?"

She had apparently noticed him looking at her. He said nothing and went back to staring forward.

"Hmph." She stuck her nose in the air, "Everyone here is so rude."

"..." The young woman sprang straight up, the ice pack flying out of her hand and skittering across the room, "Ahh! How did time pass so quickly?"

_It's because you have an attention span of five min- no, five seconds. _The Uchiha ignored her as she whirled around the room, managing to knock two chairs over and drop a bowl on her foot.

"Time, time, time." She chanted, dropping the bowl on the cabinet with a clatter.

"...What are you doing?"

"I'm making breakfast!" She grabbed a sack of... flour and put it beside the bowl, a poof of white powder settling on the front of her shirt.

"...?" The Uchiha stood, moving to stand in the doorway as she charged past the table, upsetting another chair.

"...What's all the noise?" Deidara poked his head through the door, his eyes half-shut and hair shielding most of his face.

"Breakfast!" The girl said, spotting him now standing there with Itachi.

"Oh." The blond was obviously not awake yet. Itachi moved from the doorway; it was becoming far too loud and crowded for his taste.

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"Oh?" Amaya glanced over at the dazed-looking Deidara, catching the tail-end of Itachi's robe as he disappeared down the hall.

"Hmm." She shrugged, "He must've wanted to get some fresh air..." She turned back to her task, ignoring the chaos that she had left in her wake.

Deidara stumbled over to peer over her shoulder, "Whatcha doin'?"

She brushed at the flour on her shirt with an equally flour-covered hand, "Making breakfast."

She stared at the bowl sitting in front of her, "Hmm." She turned, running straight into the blond. "Oh! What are you doing standing there?"

"Watching." The blond replied, voice still bleary from sleep.

Amaya tapped a finger against her chin, giving the blond a look from the corner of her eye, "...Would you like to help?"

His eyes opened the rest of the way, "...Help?" He said, his expression wary.

"Sure." Amaya said, "Why not?" She grinned. "It'll be fun!" She spun away from him, almost tripping over a fallen chair, "Come on!"

* * *

"Man..." Amaya flopped down on the floor, her back against the wall, "I'm stuffed..." She stretched her arms above her head, "And I got up way too early..."

Deidara slid down the wall beside her, "Hmm."

Amaya glanced over at him, "Are you going back to sleep?"

"No..." The blond's head slid to the side, his hair obscuring whether his eyes were open or not.

"He's asleep." Amaya nodded, putting a sage expression in place.

"Sage." A voice said, amused and mocking, "How ridiculous."

"Eep!" She fell over sideways, landing flat on her back as she twisted to face the new person; "O-h." She sighed, her head falling back with a thump on the floor, "Sa-sori. Don't scare me like that."

He stared down at her. Or at least that's what Amaya was pretty sure he was doing. _It's hard to tell with the weird armor stuff he's got on... And come to think of it, he was wearing it the other night at dinner as well..._

She sat up, "Do you eat?" She stood, "I made breakfast if you do..."

"I don't eat." Sasori replied, and dredged back down the hall in the way he had come.

"This is too much..." Amaya moaned, "Nobody will even tell me anything..."

"Aaaggghhh!"

Amaya shot upright, "Wah!" She rubbed her eyes, "I fell asleep... And I dreamed that someone screamed and it woke me up."

"That wasn't a dream, hmm."

"Oh. You're awake too." Amaya glanced over at the blond, "Why am I sleeping in the kitchen..?"

He shrugged, "That's where you fell asleep, hmm." 

She stretched, "And now my neck hurts..." She rubbed the sleep from her eyes, "Hmm... Wait! Who screamed?"

He shrugged, unconcerned, "I dunno."

"...Uhh..." Amaya stared up at him, wide-eyed, "You didn't bother to check..?"

Confusion filled his face, "Why would I?"

Her jaw dropped, "..Why?" She spluttered, waving her arms through the air, "Why wouldn't you?" She yanked on his sleeve, "Let's go see! Someone could be hurt!"

"Whoa! Stop that! Hmm!"

She ignored him, dragging him after her by his sleeve. He could have shaken her off, but for some reason he couldn't name, he didn't want to hurt her if he tried.

"Hurry up!" She said, tugging at him, "You weigh to much for me to drag you!"

"Then why are you dragging me? Hmm!" Deidara yelped, planting his feet in the ground, "And you pulled me all the way outside!"

"Ah!" She jerked backwards, slamming into him; they both tumbled to the ground, landing in a tangle of arms and legs.

"Now look!" Amaya fumed, "That hurt! And we're all dirty!" She planted her hands against his chest, shoving herself to the side off of him.

"Oof!" He made an odd huffing sound as the breath was knocked out of him, dropping his head back against the ground.

"Hmph." Amaya pulled her legs underneath her, standing awkwardly as her feet tangled around each other. Her eyes widened to the size of saucers, "Ooh." She wind-milled her arms, "Uh-oh."

"Owwww!"

"My nose is squashed." Amaya stated, sprawled across the already prone blond.

"Your nose? What about my ribcage? Hmm?" Deidara grabbed her shoulders, pushing her off and sitting up. He stayed hunched over, "For someone who looks so light," The blond huffed, "You sure are heavy."

Her eyes blinked rapidly, "Are you calling me fat?" She asked in surprise, "How rude!"

"You dragging me all the way outside was rude! Hmm!"

"Oh dear." She pressed a finger against her cheek, "Are you mad at me..?"

"YES!" He shouted, "Are you trying to kill me? Hmm?"

_He is mad at me... _She slumped, _I think for real this time..._

"Whoa! Don't start crying!" The blond's voice dropped, "Aw man... Come on, don't..."

Amaya sniffed, pressing her fingers against her eyes, "I'm not." She said, "I don't cry." Her voice shrank, "I don't cry..."

"Urgh..." Deidara dropped his head into his hands, "Geez... I didn't mean it." A thought struck him, "Besides, we were going to go find the screaming person."

She took her hands away from her face, "Right..." She started to stand, mouse-brown hair swinging forward to hide her eyes.

"Here." The blond sighed, reaching a hand down to grab hers, "Come on."

"..." She stared at his back, she being the one pulled along now, _Maybe he isn't mad anymore... _She stumbled, "You're walking too fast..." She said, "My legs aren't long enough."

He slowed enough that she could keep up, not letting go of her hand even though she was now keeping up with him. _... I guess he isn't. _She rubbed her eyes with her free hand, "I'm glad..."

"Hmm?"

Amaya looked up at him, "Nothing." She smiled, "I'm fine."

"Oh." The blond turned back around, "Okay."

"Do you even know where we're going?" Amaya puffed, "'Cause we've been walking for an awful long time."

Deidara sighed, "Well, I could make another bird, hmm."

"How come you didn't do that at first?" She asked, stumbling to a stop, "I like flying."

He shrugged, "Didn't think about it." He released her hand and she rubbed it off on her pants, _Now it feels weird. He was holding it for a really long time. _She kept her head down, hiding the blush that crept across her face. _I don't think he even noticed._

"Come on! Hmm!" The blond grabbed her by the waist and hoisted her up onto the bird, disregarding her indignant squeak.

Amaya poked her finger into the creature, it sank in up to her palm.

"Hey! What are you doing?"

"Meep!" She jerked her finger back, a strange slurp accompanied the action as her finger left the clay. "Sorry!" She said, clutching her hands together in her lap.

"...I was messin' with you." The blond grinned, his visible eye sparkling.

"Grrr." Amaya pulled her mouth into the severest frown she could manage, planting her hands in front of her and leaning forward to glower at him, "Not nice!"

The blond threw his head back and laughed, "Not nice? What are you, five? Hmm?"

"Meanie." She muttered, slouching.

He laughed harder, almost falling off the bird as he started to climb up, "Meanie..." He chuckled, sitting right behind the bird's head.

Several minutes later, flying through the air, Amaya was sitting behind the blond, ignoring his protests, her arms wrapped around his waist.

"Come on, let go. Hmm." Deidara scowled, "We aren't even going very fast."

"I almost fell off." Amaya said, stubbornly clutching him tighter.

"Ow! At least let me breathe. Hmm!"

She loosened her grip, "Sorry..."

"Never mind." The blond peered down at the ground, "Well, no screaming people, but there's Itachi." He pointed down at the dark-haired man.

Amaya followed his finger, "Maybe someone saw him and freaked out." She suggested, a yawn threatening to break through.

"I guess so. Hmm..." The blond turned the bird around, "In any case, we're going back."

"...Okay." She leaned her forehead against his back, "I got up too early anyway..." She did yawn this time, _Ow. My head almost split in two. Eww... I don't want two heads... _"I'd look really funny with two heads..."

"Uhh..." The blond craned his head back, trying to see her face, "Two heads...? What brought that up? Hmm?"

"Nothing..."

Deidara sighed, "Don't fall asleep. You don't have a room to sleep in." He paused, "Where _did _you sleep last night?"

"...The couch..." She mumbled, "It was really comfy..." She leaned side of her head against him, "I don't have a room yet..."

"..." The blond debated for a minute, "...I can help you set a room up tomorrow."

"Not today...?"

"I think you would fall asleep partway through the process, hmm." He shrugged, "You can sleep on the couch for one more night, can't you?"

She shrugged, "...Sure."

"Okay. Well, since you apparently did a ton of stuff yesterday, and got up far to early today, I think you should sleep."

"..."

"...Darn." The blond grumbled, "You already are..."

**Well, drop a line, tell me what you think.**

**Granted it's only the third chapter, but that ain't gonna stop you from reviewing.**

**If this resembles anybody else's fic, that was not my intention.**

**See ya, **

**~UndeadScribe~**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: If anyone is reading this note, then I will proceed with the disclaimer.**

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**Don't own it. Never will. All I own is the ocs, and the fanfic.**

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**Ya know, those notices I get in my e-mail that showed people favoriting it or putting it on story alert made me really happy. Yeah I'm easy to please. And amuse.**

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-Thump-

-Thump-

Scuffling came from around the corner, the efforts of an amateur to remain silent. A mirror poked around the corner, then retracted, someone's effort to infiltrate intelligently. Unfortunately, the person was attempting to break-in to a hideout that the most dangerous criminals known were occupying.

The intruder's breathing quickened as he slid around the corner; he froze as a sound came from behind him, spinning around, he came face to face with the very people he had trying so hard to avoid.

A boyish looking blond flipped his hair away from his face and regarded him from his position against the wall, "That last little bit wasn't half-bad, hmm?"

The disfigured looking creature beside the blond scoffed, "It was pathetic. The girl could have caught him."

The intruder squeaked, then drew himself up, apparently remembering his pride. He opened his mouth to respond to the insult.

"No, no." The blond interrupted, waving a hand in the air, "I meant the spinning around. That was the most impressive thing he did, hmm." He pushed away from the wall.

"Ah." The other Akatsuki regarded the man, who was now quivering with rage, "I admit that wasn't too bad." He stated.

"Shut up!" The man burst out, pointing a kunai threateningly in their direction.

The two criminals regarded him with obvious amusement. Then the blond let out an enormous yawn, "I'm bored now. Let's kill him."

"For once, I agree with you."

"Hey, Sasori! What do you mean 'for once'? Hmm? I usually disagree with you!"

The intruder scowled, "Tell me where the girl is!" He yelled, waving the knife at him.

They turned in eerie unison to look at him. The blond was the one who spoke, "Girl?" His visible blue eye narrowed, "...Amaya?"

"Aha!" The man cried, "Then she is here! I am here to rescue her!"

"..." The two men stared at him in silence. Again it was the blond that responded, Sasori remaining silent throughout their exchange, "Rescue her, hmm?" Scorn dripped from his voice, "From what? Us?"

"Of course!" The man glared, "You are holding _my _sweetheart captive! I have come to bring her home."

"...Ha...ha..." The blond suddenly wheezed a laugh, dropping any attempt to remain serious, and clutched his stomach as he struggled to breath through his hilarity, "Sweetheart...? You..? Her..?"

The man drew himself up, visibly wrapping his pride around him, "Of course!" He stated, "And it is my duty to return her to her family."

"Okay." Sasori said, disgruntled, "I've had it with this idiocy."

"Sasori? Deidara?" A young female voice came from down the hallway beside the two Akatsuki members, "Are you in there?"

"...Darn." Sasori muttered, "Not again..."

Deidara peered down the hall, "Right here!" He waved a hand to get the girl's attention.

The intruder held his breath; at last! Now he could escape this place, and with her beside him!

The girl trotted into the room, not noticing the him, he stared at her. She looked exactly the same as the last time he saw her, save the clothes, which were baggy on her thin frame. "I'm done!" She announced, grinning at the other two men, then her eyes darted his way, and she froze, "What is he doing in here?" Her voice squeaked, arms crossing over her chest defensively.

"...You know him?" Sasori sounded incredulous.

"Yeah..." Amaya glanced at him from the corner of her eye, "But what's he doing here?"

"Looking for you." The blond interjected, struggling to keep a straight face.

"...Me?" Amaya stared at him, "Well, he can leave, I don't want anything to do with him." She turned away, "Oh, right. Will y'all come help me finish now?"

Deidara shrugged, "Sure. I've got nothing else to do, hmm?"

Sasori gave a long-suffering sigh, "What about this idiot?" The Akatsuki member examined him, "He looks pretty worthless to me. I doubt anyone would miss him."

The man looked apoplectic, his face rapidly turning a dark shade of purple, "I will be back! And I will rescue her! No matter how hard you try to keep her as your prisoner!" He snapped his arm down, releasing the smoke bomb clutched in his hand. Smoke billowed up around them; the two Akatsuki leaped out of the cloud, Deidara grabbed Amaya's arm, dragging her after him.

Amaya coughed into her arm, "Ugh." She blinked, eyes watering.

"I somehow doubt it matters that he escaped. Hmm?" Deidara's voice came from right behind her, "He seemed too stupid to bring anyone else back with him."

"Yeah..." Amaya stared in the direction the ninja had run, _What is he doing here? And how did he find me? _

"Amaya?" A hand shook her shoulder, "You kinda zoned out there."

She managed a smile, _No use worrying about it. I doubt he'll be back. _"I'm fine." She ran her fingers back through her hair, smoothing it away from her face, "Now will you help me?"

"..." He stared at her until she felt uncomfortable, then shrugged, a repeat of his earlier response, "Sure."

Amaya gave a happy sigh, "Finally!" She put her hands on her hips, turning in a slow circle to scan the room she was standing in.

Sure, she was underground. But that really wasn't _that _bad. And now she had a room, which was much nicer then sleeping on the couch. She flopped face-first on her bed, "...Ow." Her nose was being squashed flat in this position. She rolled over, throwing her arms out to the sides and sinking back into the mattress.

She stared up at the ceiling, "I wonder what he was doing here..."

"Knock, knock." Deidara poked his head through the door, "Are we done? Hmm?"

"Yep!" Amaya sat back up, "And I guess I need to go make something to eat..." She tapped her index finger against her chin, "Hum, de dum. What to fix?"

_Hrm... I still don't understand why he was here... Or what he was doing, or... Anything! I don't know a thing! _

"Amaya?" A hand swished back and forth in front of her face, "You still in there?"

"..."

"Umm. Amaya?"

She grabbed his wrist; yanking his hand toward her.

"Whoa!" Deidara staggered forward, catching himself on the edge of the bed with his free hand, "What are you doing?"

Amaya peered down at his hand, feeling her eyes widen, "Y-you have a mouth in your hand..." Her mouth hung open, "That is so weird."

"..." Deidara stared down at her with flat eyes, "You just now noticed? You aren't very observant."

"But..." She turned his palm toward the light, "What do they do?"

A gleam entered his eye, "Watch." He pulled his hand back, cupping one over the other, stood there a moment longer, then held his hands out to her. She kept her eyes on them obediently, her expression fascinated.

He slowly opened his hands... And held a small, fat clay bird out to her.

"Ohhh." She reached her hand out, then jerked it back, giving him a questioning look.

"Touch it, yeah!"

_It's cute... _She thought in surprise, touching it gently with her index finger. It moved. She gave a squeak of surprise, "It moved!"

His grin took up most of his face, "This is art, hmm!"

"...Can-" She broke off, still staring at the little creature, "Can I hold it?"

In response, he grabbed her wrist with one hand, flipping her hand palm-up; Amaya held her breath as he deposited the bird on her hand, "Does this blow up..?"

He shrugged, "Sure. But only if I make it. Hmm!"

"Really?" She looked amazed, "Will you show me?" She stood, still cradling the creature in her hands, "Please?"

"...Really?" Shocked was the only way she could describe his face at that moment, "You're _asking _me to show you?"

"Umm... Yes?" _Is that bad? _She suddenly felt worried, _What if he doesn't like to show other people? _"B-but, you don't have too!" She sputtered, "O-only if you want to!"

His face lit up, "Let's go! Hmm!" He seized her hand, "Come on!"

"Oh!" She barely managed to keep her feet under her from the sudden jolt as he pulled her after him, "Okay!"

_I guess he doesn't mind! _She hurried after him, struggling to keep up with his much longer stride. A grin spread across her face, _This should be fun!_

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-Boom!-

Another bomb exploded high in the air; Amaya clapped her hands in delight, "That's incredible!" She said, "That one was huge!"

The blond hadn't lost his manic grin the entire time they had been out here, if possible, it had grown. He looked something approaching insane. And the more impressed she was, the worse it got; now, he was panting from exhaustion. She had long since lost count of the number of explosives he had created, and they grew in size and force the longer he continued.

She sprang to her feet, "It's getting late," She said, "We should probably get back. After all," She trotted over to him, "I don't want you collapsing from tiredness 'cause you were showing me all this."

He waved her concern away, "Nah. I'm not gonna collapse." He tucked her hand through his arm, laughing as she spun with him when he turned, "H-hey!" She cried, "What are you doing?"

Deidara shrugged, "Taking you home."

"O-oh."

The blond peered down at her, "Something wrong? Hmm?"

She quickly shook her head, training her eyes on the ground, "Nope!" _For a second I thought he meant my _other _home... _She frowned, _Don't be ridiculous. Hmm._

They had taken two more steps when something on the ground caught her eye, "Ooh!"

Deidara stopped, "What?"

Amaya crouched, "Look... It's a wire?" She gave it a puzzled look, _What's a wire doing here?_

Deidara pulled her up and back, "Don't touch that." The blond took her place, squatting down to examine the wire. "Hmph." He gave a disgusted snort, "It's a trip-wire. Hmm."

"What's a trip-wire doing out in the middle of nowhere?"

The blond shrugged, "Good question. Hmm."

"Amaya!"

Amaya glanced questioningly at the blond, "Huh? What was that?"

Deidara stood, scanning the area around them, "Great." He muttered, "It's that idiot that claimed that he was trying to rescue you earlier. Hmm."

She peered up at him, "Where?"

He tipped his head in the direction that the man was in, "Over there." He made a disgusted face, "Let's go. Hmm."

_That sounds good to me. _Amaya curled her hand around the blond's arm, "Yep! He can't catch up to us anyway."

"Wait!" The man's voice came from behind them; she hugged Deidara's arm tighter, "Can we go now? I have stuff to do."

"Sure."

He wasted no time in conjuring another of his birds, ignoring her protest, "Don't do that! You're already tired!"

Deidara shook his head, swinging her up onto the bird, "I'm fine. Why do you worry so much anyway? Hmm?"

"Umm." She sat on the bird, scooting up behind him when he hopped on, "What do you mean? I just don't want anything bad to happen to you." She pushed her hair back as the wind gusted around them, "Or anybody."

The blond was silent, directing the bird in the direction of the hideout as the figure of the enemy ninja shrunk into the distance. Amaya sighed, "Now I'm thirsty." She said, "And hungry. And I have stuff to do again, and I don't want to cause trouble 'cause of that guy, and I don't know why he's here... Or-"

"Do you always ramble this much? Hmm?" Deidara craned his neck to see her over his shoulder, "And switch topics so abruptly?"

"Hmm. Oops. That wasn't intentional. But now _I _keep thinking 'hmm' and then I said it." She poked his back, "And it's all your fault."

"...I guess so." He chuckled. "To both that and the question you ignored."

"What question?" _I don't remember a question. Oh wait. Now I do. _"Ohhh. That question. I don't ramble." She gave an injured sniff, "And I stay on topic!"

"Hah... Right. Anyway, who is that guy? Hmm?" The bird was drifting slowly toward the ground.

"..." Amaya shrugged, "Just some guy I knew."

"Hmm." He studied her, "He said he was your 'sweetheart'. Man, he sounded lame."

"Ex_cuse _me? Sweetheart?" Her face reddened, "Ohh. I'm gonna go find him! How dare he?" A jolt emphasized her words as they landed; she stood, stomping to the edge and jumping off, "Argh! That man... Is an idiot!"

"..." Deidara gazed after her, his face was beginning to hurt from holding back the grin that had threatened when she started ranting. She slammed the door hard enough that it shook, and he collapsed against the clay creature, unable to hold it in any longer.

"...Deidara?"

"..." The blond peeked out from under his hair, finding Sasori below him on the ground, giving him an unreadable face. He laughed again, "Aw man..." He slid off the bird, it poofed out of existence in the cloud of smoke as his feet hit the ground. "That was funny. Hmm."

"What are you talking about this time?" The puppet-master questioned, sounding disgusted as usual.

"Her." There was no need to elaborate.

"Of course." Sasori shook his head, "You are ridiculous." He turned, obviously about to leave.

"Hey! What are you talking about? Hmm?" The blond planted himself in front of Sasori before he could make his escape, "I am not ridiculous!"

"Hmph." Aside from another expression of disgust, mixed with typical arrogance, the puppet-master ignored him, walking around the blond as if he were no more then a obstacle that happened to be in his path.

"Geez." Deidara glared after his partner, "So annoying."

"..."

Deidara froze, _There is someone standing behind me. _He turned, and slumped, "Oh. It's you." He scowled at the Uchiha, "Stop sneaking up on me! Hmm!"

Itachi regarded him with a blank expression, "Maybe you should pay more attention." He said, ignoring the shocked look that came over the blond as he spoke. He moved around the other Akatsuki member, continuing inside as if he had never paused.

"...What's going on?" Deidara stared in the direction the two Akatsuki had gone, _I think this is very strange, he never talks to me unless he has too, hmm._

He stood outside the door, _Hmm. _He shrugged, giving up trying to figure out any of the other people that stayed here.

"Deidara!" Amaya sprang up in front of him from thin air, "Agh!"

"Oops. Sorry." She giggled, "I came to get you to help me!" She clasped her hands behind her back, "So will you?"

"..." Deidara tried to get over his shock at her sudden appearance, "With what?"

"Now you're acting suspicious!" She shrugged, "Nothing much. But my bed is too heavy and it's still too close to the door and I can't move it and it's too heavy..."

"You already said that." Deidara sighed, "Why me? Hmm?" _She seems to have forgotten that she was planning on going on a killing spree._

"'Cause you don't seem to mind. Even if you do grumble." She bounced up and down on her toes. "So will you?"

He slumped, "Fine. Why not?"

**Another chapter. What did y'all think? This doesn't really have a grand plot or anything, though stuff will happen. You just have to be patient. Go with the flow. Or not read. Take your pick.**

**Well, I'll be going now. I have to start working on the _next _chapter, where hopefully more will happen. This is the first time that I've written something longer like this so I'm still workin' on it. The part in the very beginning rather quickly goes from his kinda POV to her POV. Is that confusing?**

**See ya,**

**~UndeadScribe~**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: If you read the author's note, here's the disclaimer,**

**I don't own any part of Naruto. All I own are my fics, and my ocs. Sad, isn't it?**

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**Enjoy this chapter.**

Thunder cracked overhead, the night sky lit up as lightning flashed. Amaya pressed her nose to the window, _The streaky window. _She thought, using her sleeve to rub a relatively clean spot on the glass.

"Hey, what'cha doing?"

Amaya glanced over her shoulder at the person entering the room, "I'm watching the storm." She told Hidan, turning back to the window as another brilliant flash lit the sky.

"Oh." He sauntered over to the window, "Why?"

"Umm," She wrinkled her brow in confusion, "Why..? Because I like it." She spun away from the window, narrowly missing running into him, "But I have other things to do!"

"Like what?" He trailed after her.

"Good question." She paused, "I have no idea. That's why I was watching the storm." Her face lit up, "I know!"

"Huh?" The man stared after her as she dashed from the room, "What?"

Amaya sped down the hall, "Right. Right, right." She chanted; she turned right at the junction in the corridor. She barreled toward her room, then her mouth formed an 'O' shape, "Ahh!"

Itachi's head rose just as she slammed into him, his book flew from his hand as they both tumbled to the ground, rolling over the stone floor.

The Uchiha ended up flat on his back as she tumbled on and hit the wall behind him; "Ow." Amaya sat up, "Why do I keep falling on people?" She crawled over to the Uchiha, "Are you alright?"

"..." He sat up stiffly, "Yes." His hand rose to the back of his head, a slight wince crossing his face.

"Are you sure?" She pulled his hand away, "I'm really, really sorry..." She felt the back of his head, ignoring the fact that he tried to move his head out of the way, "Do you want some ice? It helps a lot..."

"I said I was fine." He stood.

Amaya scrambled to her feet, "I'm sorry." She laced her fingers together in front of her, "I wasn't watching where I was going. Or I was, but I couldn't stop 'cause I was running too fast."

"...What were you doing?" He asked.

She twiddled her thumbs around, "I was getting an umbrella..."

"..."

Amaya leaned to the side so she could see his face better, "Are you sure you don't want any ice?" _I think I did hurt him._

"...An umbrella." It was more of a statement than a question, and the tone of his voice clearly questioned her sanity.

"Yes..." She shifted her attention to her feet, "I was going to go outside." She scrunched her face up, then- "I'm sorry I hurt you!" She burst out, "I didn't mean too!"

"Why are you still apologizing? I'm fine." Itachi stood, "Perhaps in the future, you could watch where you're going." He retrieved his book from the floor, dusted its cover off, then continued in the direction he had been going before she all but trampled him.

"..." Amaya stared after him with flat-eyes, "He doesn't make any sense."

"Who?"

"Itachi... Huh?" She spun around, almost ending up on her face again, "You scared me!" She said, scowling at the blue-skinned man, "You shouldn't sneak up on people!"

Kisame grinned, sharp teeth gleaming, "That's what Shinobi do, girl. If I had wanted to kill you, you'd be dead." He walked past her, leaving her gaping at his back. "Well, that's rude." Amaya muttered, "Talking about killing me... Hmph."

She whirled in the opposite direction- thankfully the way she was meant to be going- and stomped down the hall. "I wonder if they even have umbrellas.. Maybe I can get one of their hats..." She paused a second then resumed walking, "I brought an umbrella. How did I forget that?"

Something settled on top of her head, "You didn't bring an umbrella," A familiar voice said, "In fact, I'm not sure you brought anything, hmm?"

Amaya reached up to feel what was now on her head, "A hat..?"

Deidara shrugged, "You were just talking about them," He motioned back toward the front room, "So, I gave you one."

"Who's was it?" She asked, swishing aside the strands that dangled in front of her face.

"I don't remember. Hmm." Deidara began whistling a jaunty tune.

"..."

He glanced down at her, "What?"

"...Hehehe." She giggled under her breath, almost choking as she tried to control her laughter.

"What's so funny? Hmm?" The blond scowled, "I got you a hat, didn't I?"

"It's Sasori's, isn't it?"

"Err." He chuckled, "Just don't tell him?"

She shook her head, making her face as solemn as possible, "I won't tell if you don't." She said, hanging onto her calm demeanor by a thread. _It's getting really hard not to laugh. _She thought, biting the inside of her mouth.

"Don't tell me what?"

"Agh!" Their exclamations of surprise were in sync, they turned at the exact time; Sasori stood right behind them. Not wearing his usual armor.

"Oh!" She said, shock keeping her from silence, "You look normal!"

"You hadn't seen him before now?" Deidara asked, surprised. He glanced over at his partner, "Well, he does usually have that other thing. Hmm..."

"Yeah..." She shook herself. "Well, I'm going before the rain stops!" She ran down the hall, leaving them staring after her in puzzlement.

Then Sasori turned to the blond, "About my hat..."

* * *

Amaya strolled down the hill, the wet ground squishing beneath her bare feet; wrapping her robe tighter around herself, she gazed down at the mud, watching it ooze between her toes. She held her robe up, keeping it clear of the ground. The robe wasn't actually _hers_, she had taken from the table where someone had left it. _I'll return it. And It'll be cleaner then it was when they left it._

Rain trickled off her hat, dripping in front of her nose. The wide open area and the breeze were a welcome change from the cave, however nice a cave it was. She threw her arms out and spun in a circle, letting her robe billow out around her. _The rain feels good after being in a stone cave._

"Psst! Amaya!" A whispered greeting cut through the rain; she stopped, glancing around the wide-open area. _Where? _She couldn't see anyone. And in this area that seemed strange. There was no where to hide, unless... She looked up, peering through the spreading branches of a large tree. And then she spotted him.

"You!" She backed quickly away from the tree; he dropped to the ground, "What are you doing?" She asked, feeling her throat tighten with anger and a little fear, "I said that I didn't want to go anywhere with you."

"Ahh, but I was hired by your family. And I want you back as well." He walked toward her, she backed away. "Come now," He said, "Surely you realize that these men are evil! They abducted you after all."

She snorted a laugh, her fear disappearing, "Evil? They've been very nice to me!" She shrugged, "For the most part." She added, speaking to herself.

"Ah ha! So they have treated you badly!"

"Knock it off, Nubao." She said, turning her back to him and heading for the door, "I'm staying." _Oops. _She looked over her shoulder, "And they didn't abduct me! I came here." She yanked the door open and stepped inside, slamming it closed behind her.

"Hey! You're soaking wet, you idiot!" Deidara grabbed her shoulder the instant she stepped through the door and dragged her after him, "What were you thinking? Hmm!"

"..." She stared at her feet, "I saw him again."

"Who?" He asked, then his face brightened, "Oh! Him." He frowned, "Is he still out there? I could get rid of him for you."

She suddenly felt much better, she hadn't expected him to care enough to volunteer doing something like that, "No, you're not gonna kill him." She chuckled, "Besides, as long as he leaves me alone, I'm fine." She grabbed the couch as they went by, halting him in his tracks, "And I'm not cold. The rain felt nice."

"..." He stood there for a moment in silence, a confused frown on his face, "Are you sure?"

She smiled, "Yep." She scuffed a dirty toe over the floor, "Thank you."

He looked even more confused, "For what? Hmm?"

Amaya blushed, pushing strands of wet hair back under her hat, "For wanting to help me."

"Oh." The silence grew awkward, stretching out until she could hear the ticking of the clock that hung in the kitchen, "You're welcome." He mumbled, tilting his head to the side.

_Which means I can't see his face. _She sighed, _I guess they don't really ever get thanked for anything._ The young woman felt a grin stretching across her face, "Do you like cake..?" She hazarded, linking her hands behind her back.

".. What's that have to do with anything?" The blond asked, wrinkling his eyebrows in bafflement.

"I'm going to make a desert." Amaya said, "But I wasn't sure what to make."

He stared at her, an expression she couldn't quite decipher on his face, "...Cake sounds good." He said, "Can I help? Hmm?"

_He wants to help..? _She realized that he was still waiting for an answer, "That would be great." She said softly, "I would like that."

The blond suddenly grinned, breaking another silence that was beginning to stretch out, "Then let's go!"

Amaya hooked her arm through his, "Okay!"

Itachi looked up from his seat on the couch as they left the room laughing and arguing about what kind of cake to make, _What was that all about? _The Uchiha wondered, setting his book aside.

"They seem to be getting along well." Kisame walked into the room, leaned against the wall.

_Yes. They do. _Itachi picked his book up from where it lay on the couch beside him and reopened it, _Not surprising. They both seem similar in certain ways. _He turned back to his book. "Yes." Was all he said aloud though, and a moment later, he heard Kisame leave.

Amaya sat on her bed, leaned back against her pillow and curled up on her side, bunching the pillow under her head. The silence pressed down as she lay there, staring off into the dark. _I don't understand what happened today. _She swallowed, _I think he considers me a friend now. Otherwise he wouldn't have wanted to help me with that guy..._

The thought was one she liked. _When I first came, he didn't like me. _She smiled, "I think now he does though..."

She lay in the dark, wide-awake, for a long time, remembering everything that had happened over the last several days. It didn't seem possible that she had been here such a short time.

It felt like she'd been here forever.

The next thing she knew, she was opening her eyes. The room was still dark, but the clock showed that it was morning. _Funny. I don't remember falling asleep. Not that I ever remember falling asleep... _She swung her legs over the side of the bed. Her bare feet hit the floor with a thump.

She stared down at herself in dismay, "I forgot to change my clothes..." She sighed, "These have mud still splattered on them."

Amaya shrugged, "Oh well. I need a bath anyway."

Itachi glanced up from his coffee, _I think someone just screamed. _The Uchiha thought a moment, _Two people actually._

His curiosity was satisfied a several minutes later when Amaya walked into the room, her face cherry red, and steam rising from her. She banged her way around the kitchen, slamming doors a little harder then necessary.

She sat down across from him with a loud huff, her face still red. Her hair hung in damp strands around her face, clinging to her skin.

_I should have guessed. _Itachi sipped his coffee, eying her over the top of the mug, "Deidara?"

Her head snapped up, "How did you know?"

"I didn't for sure until just now." The Uchiha calmly took another drink. _I also doubt she would react quite so extensively if it hadn't been him._

The girl slumped over the table, "Doesn't anyone knock anymore?" She bemoaned, sounding miserable.

"..."

"I mean, it's not like you couldn't tell that someone was in there..." She said, not seeming to care that he didn't respond, "It was embarrassing..."

The Uchiha listened with half his attention, inwardly wondering why she was telling him all this.

"How do you talk to someone after something embarrassing happens...?" She continued, "Now I'll feel awkward..." She turned her head so that her cheek rested against the wood, "It's not like he meant too..." She pushed tendrils of wet hair from her face, "And I like being his friend..."

She looked up at Itachi, "I don't know how to talk to him though!"

Itachi frowned, _Why is she asking me what to do? _The Uchiha shifted his gaze to the door, "Maybe you should ask him." He told her; he stood, walking past the blond who stood frozen in the doorway.

Amaya stiffened, she knew who Itachi was referring to, and the fact that he said it just then meant... She straightened, tugging at her shirt as she turned to the door.

Deidara's eyes drifted past her, his face as red as hers felt.

She chewed on her bottom lip, scrunching her face up in confusion and picking at the tabletop with her fingernails, _I don't know what to do_...

The blond shuffled over to the table, sliding into a chair across from her. His hair hung forward, and Amaya suddenly wished she had hair like that, it was handy when in embarrassing situations.

"..." Neither one could figure out how to start a conversation, what happened still fresh in their memory.

"Good morning!"

Tobi popped into the room, seeming oblivious to the tense atmosphere. Amaya looked up, _A distraction! _She would have cheered, but she still felt too awkward for that.

"Good morning, Tobi." She said, leaning her elbows on the table and resting her chin on her hands.

Deidara was silent, not something that she associated with him.

She swallowed the lump that was growing in her throat. _This is not going well... _She glanced at the blond from the corner of her eye, and found him watching her. Amaya flushed, her eyes dropping back to the table.

"...I'm sorry."

_Did he... just apologize...? _She looked up, "You..." She squashed the embarrassment she still felt, "You didn't mean to..." She managed a smile, "So I can't really blame you... I forgot to lock the door..."

"It doesn't lock." Hidan walked into the room, "Hasn't for a while. It's broken."

"Did everyone hear that?" Amaya asked miserably, feeling her face flush again.

"Yep." Hidan replied, poking his head into the refrigerator.

"Oh." They spoke in unison.

"Everyone. Except maybe Zetsu." Sasori strolled in, avoiding Hidan as he entered the room.

_Oh great... Who's Zetsu? _She sat up, "Who's Zetsu?" She asked, curiosity keeping her from silence.

"A plant." Hidan said, "Or he looks like a plant."

_A plant? _She perked up, "Does he ever stand still and look like an actual plant?" She caught Deidara's eye from the corner of her own and subsided, sinking back into her chair.

"Yeah." Hidan shrugged.

The other Akatsuki went back to what they were doing, seeming to forget about them for the moment. Amaya met the blond's gaze, "I guess I didn't forget..."

He slid one hand across the table, palm-up, "I am sorry." He said, giving her a contrite smile.

_... _She stared at his hand, then lifted her shoulders and let them drop, "It wasn't really your fault... You just weren't paying attention." She lifted her eyes to his face, "Are we friends?"

His eyes widened, "Friends..?" He asked, as if it was an unfamiliar notion, then a grin crossed his face, "Yeah." He said, "We are."

"Oh." _Funny. I don't feel so stiff anymore. _She smiled, "I'm glad." She reached over the table and placed her hand in his, wrapping her fingers around his palm.

**Another one. **

**I'm terrible at any sort of romance, and yet that's usually what I end up trying to write... I'm not sure what that says.**

**You know the drill. Review, please. It makes me very happy. Constructive criticism is always welcome. **

**So, tell me what you think. I really want to know.**

**See ya,**

**~UndeadScribe~**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Another chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own it. Never will. All ocs and this fic, belong to me.**

* * *

Amaya shrugged her arms through the sleeves of the robe, letting it drape down her body. "..." She stared down at it, drooping in mournful silence.

"Whoa! That's huge on you! Hmm."

She sighed, glancing up at Deidara, "I know..." She tugged at it, "I don't have any other clothes though... And mine are filthy." She ran her hands down the front, smoothing the bunched material, "They got mud all over them."

He snorted, "Yeah, 'cause you were running around outside in the rain."

Amaya shrugged, "Oh well." She gathered the bundle of dirty clothes in her arms, dumping them into a basket, "I'm gonna wash them by hand."

"..Huh?"

"There's a stream nearby," She explained, "I wanted to see if I can wash them by hand. If not, I guess I'll take them to the closest village..."

"Why..?" Deidara frowned, managing to look amused and puzzled at the same time.

"Umm..." She lifted her shoulders, let them drop, _It seems kinda stupid now that someone actually asked me why... _"Just to see if I can..." She felt her face warm, "That's it..."

The blond still looked disbelieving, "You're giving yourself more work... Just to see if you can do something?"

"It does sound dumb when you put it that way." She drew her eyebrows down in a embarrassed scowl, "But I just wanted to try. Don't you ever want to try something just for the heck of it?"

"Okay, okay. I get your point, hmm." He held up his hands in a gesture of surrender, "I was just asking." He walked to the door, glancing over his shoulder at her before he disappeared from sight.

_Argh! _She glared at the empty room,_ I was mean to him 'cause I was embarrassed!_ She fell back against the wall, "What now?" _And how come he didn't get mad? That's how he usually reacts..._

She sighed, her head drooping, "I guess I might as well do what I was going to do..." She shoved away from the wall and walked from the room.

There was no sight of the blond as she left, _He must have moved awfully fast to get away so quickly. _She squeezed the basket against her hip, "Maybe he is mad at me and just didn't say anything..."

Her eyes stayed on the floor the entire way down the hall, and when she reached the front room, it was empty, the usual noise gone. _Hmm, I wonder where everyone is... _She wandered around the couch, reached the door and pushed it open, stepping out into the warm sunshine.

_No one out here either. _She scanned the area, "Maybe they're out on missions..? Or..." She chuckled as a sudden thought occurred to her, "Maybe they're holed up in their rooms." She strolled down the hill, the wet grass flattening under her bare feet, and found the stream in a matter of minutes, "It seems I remembered right!" She crouched next to it, sticking her finger into the clear, running water.

"It's actually kind of warm." She peered up at the sky, squinting against the bright rays of the sun, _It is right under the sun though._

She glanced down at the basket of clothing, _Now what? _

Amaya looked up, _What was that? _She could've sworn she heard something. She set the wet clothing aside and leaned back on her heels.

Brown eyes scanned the area, _Nothing but trees, and grass and water and more trees. _She shrugged, "Oh well." She turned back to her task, and a black spot across the stream caught her eye. Amaya frowned, _What's that? _She stood, sliding in the mud as she hopped over the water.

The spot was farther away then she'd thought. She squinted, shading her eyes with her hand, "Is that..?" She trotted in that direction, twigs snapping as she landed on them, she winced as one broke, stabbing her foot.

The 'spot' was a person. She slowed, stumbling to a halt, breathing hard, "Itachi..?"

He looked up, "Yes?"

"What are you doing way out here?" She crouched, shuffling under the overhanging branches into the shade.

"Enjoying peace and quiet." The Uchiha said, leaning his head back against the tree.

Leaves crunched as she sat down, resting her elbows on her knees and head on her hand, "Can I ask you something?"

"..." Itachi frowned, "What?"

"Umm..." Her face felt hot, "Well, I was wondering..." She stuttered, placing a strand of hair behind her ear, "If-"

"Is this about Deidara..?" The Uchiha interrupted, a tiny hint of amusement showing in his dark eyes.

Her face flamed, "W-what? No!"

He waited.

"Okay!" She wailed, "It is!" She covered her face with her hands, feeling hot skin against her fingers. _Agh! I keep doing and saying things I should just keep to myself!_

She peeked between her fingers at Itachi, who regarded her in silence, _Why wont he say something..? _She dropped her head against her knees, keeping her face hidden, "I don't know what to say..."

He was silent, _Apparently if I wanna_ _do this_ _I have to do all the talking. _She cleared her throat, "I just... wanted.. to..." She frowned, "This is not coming out right..."

"It's not coming out at all." The Uchiha said.

Amaya picked up a fallen leaf and begin picking at it, "I don't know what to do now... Deidara said he was my friend, but..." She twirled the leaf stem between her fingers, "I don't know if that's all _I _want to be.."

She scooped up another leaf, "And this morning, I snapped at him, and he didn't get mad..." She glanced up at the silent Itachi, "It made me wonder if maybe he..." She shrugged, "I don't know..."

"..." The Uchiha frowned at her, she wrapped a strand of hair around her finger, abandoning the stem, "I guess... I could talk to _him._" She met Itachi's eyes, "But what would I ask? If it isn't like that at all... He might not want to be friends anymore..."

"Maybe you should try." He said, finally responding.

"... That's probably a good idea." She cocked her head, "I just have to find him." She jumped to her feet, "Thanks, Itachi!" She impulsively glomped him, ignored the fact he stiffened, and darted out from under the tree.

"..." Itachi stared after her, _I will never understand her._

"I don't know where he is!" Amaya kicked a tree trunk, venting her frustration, "I can't find anybody!"

"That's a good thing!" Nubao landed in front of her, grabbing her arm in the same motion.

"Hey!" She jerked back, nearly yanking her arm out of it's socket when his grip stopped her. "Let go!" She yanked at his fingers,_ I hate this! He's too strong. _She glared, "What do you want?"

He smiled, "It is my duty to return you to your family." The fingers of his other hand completely encircled her upper arm, "And that is what I am doing."

"No!" Amaya said, "If you don't let go, I'm screaming!"

He chuckled, "Ah, you expect those criminals to come to your aid? They don't care about you." He took something from a pouch on his belt, "And I have something to keep you from screaming."

_Hmph. Really? _She opened her mouth, more then willing to make good on her threat.

His hand shot out, covering her mouth and nose, and a sickly sweet smell filled her senses. _Great... It would be nice if I could move as fast as a ninja... _Her thoughts trailed off, and she felt herself fall.

He wasn't sure why it made him mad that she snapped at him, after all, he could tell that telling _him_ what she was doing embarrassed her. _Still did though... I didn't want to yell at her though..._ He gave a moody sigh, flopping over on the bird's neck.

"Now what..." Deidara grumbled, _I feel like I'm really overreacting. _The blond frowned, watching the ground slide past below him, "Or maybe she was really overreacting..?" He shrugged, _I have no idea how she thinks. Hmm. _

"Hey..." He frowned, narrowing his eyes at the ground, "Isn't that... That guy?" _Don't know what his name is. Don't care. _The ninja was staring up at the bird, though he was way too far away to realize that it wasn't a real bird. Or that Deidara was on it. _What's he doing out here? Hmm? _He circled the bird back around, _Probably trying to convince Amaya to leave again. _

"Not interesting." He grumbled, "I'm going home."

Deidara dismissed the man from his mind, directing the bird back toward the hideout.

"Amaya?" The blond frowned, "She can't still be out there, can she?" He fell backwards onto the couch, "It's getting dark outside."

"She was looking for you." Itachi looked up from the armchair, "Apparently she failed."

"Wah!" Deidara lurched to the side, falling off the edge of the couch, "Don't do that!" He growled, clutching the armrest.

The Uchiha sent him an indifferent look, "You should be more observant."

"You-! Wait." The blond cut himself off mid-sentence, "She was looking for me?"

"Yes."

He waited.

Itachi's eyes scanned over the pages of his book.

"Don't just tell me that and nothing else! Hmm!" He stomped over to the Uchiha, "Why was she looking and do you know where she is?"

"She wanted to talk to you about something." Itachi said calmly. "She is most likely still out there looking."

"Argh!" The blond spun on his heel and stalked toward the door, "I'm leaving!" He jerked the door open, letting it slam behind him. He fumed as he walked outside, "What is that girl thinking? She shouldn't be wondering around by herself at night!"

He paused, "Where could she be?" Deidara scowled, "I guess I'll start with the stream..."

"She wont be there."

"Yeagh!" The blond stumbled, almost landing on the muddy ground, "Stop it!"

Itachi walked past him, "She would already know you would not be there." He said, not bothering to look over his shoulder as he spoke, "She was headed the direction of the village when she left."

"Oh." He stalked after the Uchiha, "Why didn't you say that earlier?"

"There was no reason." Itachi replied.

"Urgh." _This isn't going to accomplish anything. I just need to find Amaya. _Deidara followed the other man, "Anything else useful? Hmm?"

"No."

_Ugh. _The blond stared at the ground, "I don't -" _Wait... _He paused, _Didn't I see that guy skulking around earlier..?_

"What?" The Uchiha stopped as well.

"I just remembered something." Deidara scowled, _I am such an idiot, I should have thought of that right off. _"That guy was lurking around earlier. I saw him a couple miles from here."

"Guy?"

Deidara looked up, "Yeah. Some guy she used to know. Delusional. Thinks they're meant for each other apparently." He frowned, "He also said something about bringing her back to her family..."

"That should be the place to start then." The Uchiha said, "Do you know anything about her family?"

_Strange. I would have thought he'd be mad at me for forgetting something like that. _The blond gave a regretful shrug, "No. She's never mentioned 'em."

"Luckily for you, you aren't doing this by yourself. Otherwise you would never manage."

Deidara glanced behind him, "You too?" He said, "Why are you here?"

His partner looked disgusted, "I just explained it."

"No you didn't." Deidara said, "All you did was insult me. Hmm."

"Isn't that explanation enough? With your abilities, you need assistance." The puppet-master walked over to join them.

Beside him, Itachi frowned, "If you have something on her family, tell us."

Sasori smirked, "As usual, Kakuzu was suspicious. He did a check on her family."

"And?" Deidara asked, scowling.

"They're merchants." Sasori said, "Not even illegal. They apparently just want their daughter back."

"Where are they? Hmm?" Deidara said, keeping a grip on his temper by the tiniest margin.

"He didn't say."

"Then that's a gigantic waste of time!" Deidara shouted, throwing his arms into the air.

"No, it isn't." Itachi stated. He turned, heading back toward the building.

"Hey!" Deidara yelled, "Where are you going? Hmm?"

"To find Kakuzu." The Uchiha said.

_Oh. _"Right." Deidara grumbled, "I guess that would be the smart thing to do." He growled at Sasori as he stomped past him, "Stop laughing!"

The puppet-master ignored him, and Deidara could hear him chuckling as he followed him back to the hideout. _Wonderful. Now everyone will be here. _He banished the discomfort that thought provided, _It doesn't matter. Not if it means rescuing her._

"Ugh..." Amaya groaned, _What happened? _There was something soft under her cheek. _What..? _She opened her eyes, and a sea of color met her.

"Oh!" She flew upright, staring in wide-eyed horror at her surroundings.

The room was a familiar one, the riot of color that filled it, mixed with the clothing, books and stuffed animals scattered over the floor, was exactly the same as the last time she had seen it. "Oh..."

She slumped, clutching the blanket with her hands, "This is my room."

_He brought me back... _Amaya bit the inside of her mouth, _This isn't fair! _She grabbed her pillow, hurling it against the wall. _I liked living there... _She stared at the door, "It's probably locked." She slid off the edge of the bed, landing on the thick rug with a thump. _Might as well check. _She walked to the door, stepping carefully on her toes to be quiet.

She turned the knob. It rattled. "Rats." She grumbled, turning to survey her room, "Maybe the window?" She hurried to the other side of the room, clambering on her knees up onto her bed and grabbed the window sill, shuddered as she imagined unseen bugs crawling toward her fingers, then pulled herself up, "Locked too." She gave it a disgusted scowl, "Hey... What's this?"

A piece of paper was attached to the window, written in her mother's looping handwriting; she read it aloud, "Dear daughter, I apologize for locking you in, but I wish to speak with you and would like you to stay put until we can discuss this. Love, your mother."

She dropped onto her bed, sitting cross-legged, "Hmm." _Oh, there I go again... _She picked at the pine green blanket. "I guess I have to wait." She picked up a stuffed bird from where it sat on the end of her bed, squishing it between her hands. _I hope you come find me, I want to come back... _

Across from her, the lock clicked, and the doorknob turned.

**I had trouble with this chapter for some reason... I just couldn't seem to write it. But I managed, and actually got it out on time.**

**Itachi and Deidara are my favorites out of the Akatsuki.. Which I reckon y'all have guessed by now... Since they're the two that appear the most. (Sasori next.)**

**Itachi never manages to read very much of his book. Poor guy... **

**I hope y'all enjoy.**

**One more thing I just have to mention...**

**The latest chapter of the Naruto manga- rocked. It was awesome! I didn't think it could get more amazing, but it always does!**

**Oh, yeah... There will be more ocs in here now, but they won't play a very big part... It's just, I have to write her family, and she isn't related to anyone the manga...**

**See ya,**

**~UndeadScribe~**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: I'm not sure how many chapters are left, but I don't think it will be very many. **

**Disclaimer: I still don't own Naruto. Just the fic and the ocs.**

"We're wasting time!" Deidara slammed his hand on the table, "We need to find her!" The blond glared across the table at his partner, "It would be easy to track them!"

Sasori frowned, "Despite his mediocrity, he is a ninja. If the family has one, it is possible there are more." He crossed his arms over his chest, "Kakuzu found extensive information on the family."

Said ninja walked through the door, followed by every other Akatsuki member, including Pain.

Itachi moved to the table, "If she is with her family, then she should not be in any physical danger."

The blond scowled, "We don't know that. They kidnapped her! Hmm!"

"Hmph." The Uchiha turned to Kakuzu, "Well?"

The Shinobi frowned behind his mask, "Why are you doing this? She is of no importance."

_I wondered why he was doing this myself.. _Deidara thought, _But she is important!_

"That is not your concern." The Uchiha said, glaring coldly at Kakuzu, "Just answer the question- where is her family?"

The other man laid a map on the table, "Fine." He spread it out, waited for them to crowd around, and motioned to the village nearest them, "They are close to here." He pointed to a spot a short ways from the village, "Around this area."

Sasori leaned around Deidara, looking down at the map, "And?"

"They tend to keep around a dozen guards at the house." Kakuzu said, scowling, "But most of them are not ninja."

"Let's go then!" Deidara said, "We can take out these guys, no problem." He shoved away from the table, brushing past the others to get to the door.

"I hate to say this," Sasori said, "But I agree."

"Where are you going?"

Deidara missed a step, "Whoa!"

The woman standing in the door smiled, "Did I startle you?"

"Konan?" The blond said, staring at her, "What are you doing here?"

She shrugged, "I was just stopping by. I heard that there was a young woman staying here and I wanted to meet her." She stepped fully into the room, closing the door behind her, "So?"

Deidara drooped, "You mean Amaya?"

"That's her name? Pain didn't say." Konan paused, a frown crinkling her eyebrows, "Why did you react that way?"

"Well..." _I'm having trouble saying it for some reason._

"She was kidnapped." Kisame said, fiddling with the handle of his sword.

"I believe 'returned' is a more appropriate word." Said Itachi, rolling the map up and setting it aside.

Konan looked confused, "Returned?"

"To her family." Deidara elaborated, "Some guy was hangin' around, talking about bringing her home."

"I believe she ran away."

Deidara shifted his attention to the Uchiha, "From home, you mean?"

Itachi gave a small nod of confirmation.

Hidan flopped over on the couch, "Are we gonna stand around all night or do something?"

_My thoughts exactly... _The blond glared at the table, _We need to go._

Tobi ran to the door and yanked it open, "Let's go!" He disappeared outside.

Deidara was quick to follow, not waiting to see if the others joined them.

"Itachi?" Deidara crouched beside the Uchiha, keeping his eyes on the house, "Why are you helping?"

"..." The Uchiha was silent, remaining eerily still, "...That question has an obvious answer." He finally said.

_Obvious? _Deidara thought, _Doesn't seem obvious to me._ The blond frowned, _Well... I did see her talk to him fairly often. _He glanced side-long at the silent Uchiha. _And apparently she told him that she wanted to speak to me._

"Are you going to space out all night?" His partner asked, "You wont accomplish much that way."

_I wonder what she wanted to talk to me about. Hmm... _He stared at the windows, there were only a few that light shone from, "Maybe one of those is her room..."

"That is my thinking." Itachi said, standing.

"Hey!" Deidara jumped to his feet, "What are you doing?"

The Uchiha continued walking toward the house, a dark shadow that would not be visible from inside.

The redhead's smirk was easily seen, even in the dark, "He's going inside." He said, "And in case you hadn't noticed-" The sarcasm was painfully apparent, "Everyone is helping."

"Yeah..." Deidara followed Itachi, _Which wasn't expected.. Everyone's helping (Except Zetsu... He's not here right now.) ... Even Kakuzu. And Pain and Konan. _He looked behind him, "Why is everyone helping? Hmm?"

Sasori's response was an incredulous frown, "You are blind." He said, "Everyone has gotten used to having her around. Even if only a week has passed."

"...I guess so." _I didn't realize that. Hmm... I thought that they still wanted her gone..._

* * *

"Hmm?" Amaya looked up, "Was that-" Her eyes widened of their own accord, "The door!" She jumped off the bed, _Where to hide? _

"Ah!" She dashed to the closet, flinging it open, and hopping inside. "..." _I don't know what hiding accomplishes... Whoever it is knows there isn't any way to get out. _She sighed, leaning back against her clothing that still hung in the closet.

There was a creak from outside, _That... _She frowned, wishing she could see outside, _That was my bed that creaked. _She cracked the door open, holding her breath as she peered through the opening. _Who is out there?_

"..." Amaya blinked, _Her? What's she doing here? _She stayed quiet, watching as the person ran her hand over the bed.

The woman in her room stood, abruptly moving to the door, "No sense being in here." She muttered.

"Huh." Amaya covered her mouth, _Oops. I said that out loud._

The woman froze, turning back around, "Is someone in here?" She asked, walking in small, quiet steps back to the bed.

_Drat. _Amaya pulled the door closed, moving back and sitting on the floor. _What now?_

She stiffened as the sound of walking feet approached her door, _Uh oh._

The door began to open. And she could see the woman through the opening, _Oh well. I wanted to tell her anyway. _She snickered, "Boo!" She yelled, jumping to her feet.

"Ahh!" The woman jerked backwards, stumbled over a stuffed toy and fell on her rear on the hard floor.

"Oops." Amaya peeked out of the closet, "Are you alright?" She asked, stepping out of the cramped space.

"A-Amaya!" The woman gasped, "B-but, they said..." She pressed one hand to the side of her face, "They said you were kidnapped!"

"Really?" She sat across from the older woman, "I wasn't kidnapped." She cocked her head to the side, "I ran away." She nodded for emphasis, "Yup, that's what I did." She grinned, "So... How's life, Ryo?"

"... You weren't kidnapped?"

"Nope." Amaya shrugged, tracing her finger over the floor, "I hope that they find me though..."

"Who?" Ryo asked, leaning forward.

"Hmm?" She lifted her gaze from the woodwork, "What?"

Ryo snorted, "Don't give me that. Who are 'they'?" Her grin was evil, "Who did you meet while you were gallivanting around?"

Amaya blushed, "W-what are you talking about?" _If she finds out, I'll be teased for the rest of my life._

"Look." Ryo said, "I may be just your cousin, but I know you well enough to tell that you met someone you like."

_Eep... _Her face felt crimson, "A-and?"

"Who-" She stopped, glancing at the door, "Did you hear that?"

Amaya closed her eyes, listening, "Hear what?" She asked, then her eyes flew open, "Oh! Someone's coming!" She scrambled to her feet, facing the door, _Please.. _

The door opened.

"M-mother!" Amaya stuttered, taking an involuntary step backwards.

"Hello, daughter." Her mother frowned, head tilted back, spine straight, she looked down her nose at the two girls, studying them as if they were bugs on the sidewalk that she was considering squashing to end their miserable existence.

_Ahhh! Now what? This is bad... _She bit her lip. Hard. And tasted blood. She clasped her hands behind her back, shrinking down to avoid her mother's eyes.

It didn't work. It never did.

"Stand up straight." Her mother commanded, "You are short enough as it is. No one will ever take you seriously."

_I don't care. _She thought, straightening from her slump, _She's right though... I only come up to Deidara's chest and he's the shortest of the Akatsuki... _The thought made a smile flicker across her lips.

"Look at me when I speak to you." Said her mother, sweeping inside.

Amaya lifted her chin, staring at her mother's nose.

"You're going cross-eyed."

_Darn. So much for that. _She met her mother's eyes, trying not to flinch as she waited for the woman to yell at her for running away.

"What do you have to say for yourself?" Her mother asked, crossing her arms in front of her.

"Umm..." She shifted her eyes to the door, _No escape... _"I... I wanted... to live my life." She gulped, "And do things... Instead of being... locked up in here.. learning how to run a.. merchant company."

Her mother began to pace in short steps in front of the door, "If that was all this was, this might be ignored." She snapped to a stop, her robe flaring, faced her daughter, "However, you not only ran away, you ran away... to a group of criminals!"

"B-but..." Amaya stumbled over the words, "They..." She took a deep breath, _They don't deserve to be thought of that way! They've been very nice to me! _"They were nice! Much nicer then Nubao, who _drugged_ me to bring me home!" _W-wow... that felt kinda good... _She put her hands on her hips, "And! I want to go back."

The silence following rang in her ears.

Deidara dropped the useless guard in a heap on the floor, "Finally! Hmm!" He turned, searching for his partner.

"Right here." Sasori walked around him, heading for a staircase, "This way."

The blond hurried after him, _How does he know which way? _He grumbled, following the redhead up the stairs.

The two Shinobi made their way quickly through the halls.

"Which room?" Deidara asked, opening a door to the side and peering inside, _Empty._

"If it's the one we think," Sasori responded, "It's farther down." He started walking again, "One of the rooms with the light still on was at the end of this hallway."

"Oh."

They continued down the hall, passing by room after room, "This place is pretty big..."

Sasori glanced at him, "Hmph."

_Which means he agrees. _Deidara translated; he glanced around the house, _Why did Amaya run away from here..?_

"There." His partner said, indicating the door at the end of the hall.

_Okay.. _"Let's go."

"That would be a good idea."

For the first time he didn't express surprise aloud, _I was expecting that. Hmm. _He turned to the Uchiha, and his eyes widened, "Everybody?"

"_Go._" Konan said, "Come on."

Deidara nodded, "Right. Hmm."

He led the way, coming to a stop in front of the door, _Should I knock? _

"Just open it." Sasori said, crossing his arms.

Deidara didn't need to hear it twice. He shoved the door open.

Amaya squeaked as the door burst open, _What? _She gaped at the suddenly crowded doorway, "Everyone...?" _They all came... _She blinked at the burning sensation in her eyes, "You... Everyone came..."

Deidara shrugged, grinning, "What else were we supposed to do?"

"If he says he was fine, he's lying." Sasori said.

The smirk that crossed Itachi's face was one of the most animated expressions she'd seen him with yet, "He was frantic."

The blond flushed, "I wasn't..." He protested.

"..." She stared at them, catching her bottom lip with her teeth, she rubbed her hand across her eyes.

"Amaya?" That was Deidara, "You okay?"

She dropped her hand back to her side, met his eyes, then ran the few steps between them and threw her arms around his neck, burying her face in his shoulder. Amaya could feel her mother's eyes boring a hole in her back, but she didn't care. She tightened her grip on the blond, her feet dangling from the ground.

Deidara staggered back, catching Amaya as she launched herself at him, _Not.. what I expected. _He wrapped his arms around her waist, "Are you alright?"

"...Yes." Her voice was muffled, "I just... want to go back."

"Who are you people?" The older woman standing in the room glowered at them, "And what are you doing in my house?"

Deidara looked at the other people in the room, "Isn't it obvious? Hmm?" He smirked, "We're here to get Amaya."

The woman drew herself to her full height, taller then he was, "I am Matsuko Akemi. You can not barge into my house and get away with it." She spun to the girl still sitting on the ground, "Get up."

The girl clambered to her feet, her eyes on Amaya, "Umm... Cuz?"

Amaya's arms loosened, and Deidara released her, she slid to the ground, "Yes?"

"Does..." She glanced away, wrapping her arms around herself, "Does this mean I wont see you again...?"

Amaya dropped her gaze, her hand still on his arm, "I..." She faced them, her eyes pleading.

Deidara shrugged, "Why not? Hmm?"

"That was not a very enlightening answer." Itachi said from behind him, "You could be saying that she never will see her again." The Uchiha frowned, "I see no reason why you would have to never see each other again."

A smile stretched across her face, "Really?"

_Now she looks happy. _Deidara watched her clap her hands together, _She must have missed them. _

"Oh, good." Her cousin looked relieved.

"What is this? She is not returning with you." Her mother's haughty scowl encompassed them all, "She is staying here."

"Aside from being her daughter," Itachi said, "Why does she wish you to stay?"

"Umm..." Amaya frowned, her face crinkling, "Well, I'm supposed to learn how to run the company..." She shrugged, "I only have one sibling and he just turned eight."

Deidara didn't quite manage not to laugh, "She wants _you _to run a merchant company. Hmm."

"Yep!" Her eyes shut when she smiled, "It does sound kinda silly."

Her mother was beginning to look apoplectic, "What is the meaning of this?" She took a step forward, "As the oldest, it is your responsibility."

"But..." Amaya looked back to her mother, "I'm really not any good at stuff like that." She scuffed her foot over the floor, "And Dad is still in perfect health." She frowned, "He is in perfect health... Right?"

"Your father is fine."

_Hmm.. She actually seemed to soften when her husband was mentioned. _Deidara poked Amaya in the back, "Keep talking about your dad."

"...?" She twitched at his finger in her back, "Don't do that." She said, "Why?"

_Urgh. Abrupt conversation changes again... _It didn't bother him anymore though."Because, she seemed more friendly when you mentioned him." _We could just get outta here, but I don't think Amaya would like that._

"Okay." She said, pulling at the over-sized robe she still wore, "I think Dad can run it for a long time more, and by the time he can't, Toshi will be old enough to take over." She directed the comment to her mother, still fiddling with the robe as she spoke.

"That is of no consequence." Her mother said, "Even were you not to be trained to take over, you would still be staying here."

Amaya shrugged, "I'll be eighteen tomorrow. I can decide what I want do then."

_She will? _"Really?" Deidara asked.

"Mm-hmm." She tilted her head, her pony-tail falling over the top her head into her face, "My birthday is April twenty-ninth."

"Until then, however, you must stay here." Her mother surveyed the group standing in the door, "Otherwise, they truly will be charged with kidnapping."

Amaya sighed, "Alright. But." She grinned, "One condition."

"A condition? I don't believe you are in position for that, young lady."

"Okay... A request then."

_What is she going to ask? _Deidara frowned, glancing at the other Shinobi from the corner of his eye.

"I want all of them," She included them in a sweep of her arm, "At my birthday party."

**I don't know why, but this chapter kinda felt different for some reason... Anyway, just tell me what ya think.**

**Her mother is... a little cliched I guess, but that's just how it worked out, and she's just kinda controlling, she isn't cruel or anything.**

**And Ryo... Is there because she's a character that I came up with at some point after I started writing fanfiction and decided to add to the story... **

**Well, just tell me what you think, and I'll get back to my writing.**

**See ya,**

**~UndeadScribe~**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: HOWDY! Err... Anyway. I'm just happy I got it out on time!**

**This was hard... **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Only the ocs and the fic.**

"Ama?" Toshi sat on the end of her bed, "Why were you staying with those people?"

Amaya glanced up from her book, "Why..?"

Her little brother nodded, "I mean, they are bad guys, aren't they?"

"Well..." She flipped her book closed, "They weren't mean to me." She pondered her own statement for a minute, "Except for the whole 'saying they were going to kill me'." She chuckled at her brother's horrified expression, "They stopped doing that though."

He frowned, "But what about us?" His voice was plaintive, "Don't you want to be around us?"

"Of course I do!" She leaned over and poked him, "Didn't you find my letter? I said I'd be back."

"Your writing is too messy." He said, a scowl wrinkling his face.

_How do I explain this to him? _She thought, _It didn't really sound like a very good reason to myself. _"I wanted to have adventures." She finally said.

"Really?" He perked up, "Did you?"

_Hmm, I guess I did. _She shrugged, "Stuff happened. Mostly I got to fly." She flopped back on her pillow, "And that was amazing."

"...Fly?" He scooted closer, dark brown eyes wide.

"Yep..." She grinned at the ceiling, "Maybe I can get Deidara to bring you and me up again sometime."

"Which one's that?"

"The blond." She said, "The one who talks a lot."

"I saw him earlier." Toshi said, "He was in the kitchen." He shrugged, "He didn't see me though."

_I think I'll introduce them. _Amaya decided, sitting up, "How would you like to meet everyone?" She asked, hopping off the bed.

His eyes widened even farther, looking as if they were trying to take over half of his face, "Okay!"

Amaya crept down the hall, stepping over the boards she knew squeaked, she looked back at her brother, holding a finger to her mouth, "Shh." She laughed to herself at the delighted grin on his face, _He likes sneaking around like this._

They tip-toed down the stairs, giggling and shushing each other as they creaked toward the kitchen.

"Okay," She announced in a stage-whisper, peering into the kitchen, "He's still there. And so is Tobi." She made a swirling motion around her face with her hand, "The one with the mask." She explained.

Toshi nodded, and she pushed the door open, "Come on." She said.

Deidara looked up from his food, "Did you hear something?" He asked Tobi, _That sounded like her laughing._

The masked ninja nodded, "Creaking." He observed, "The stairs."

Deidara watched the door from the corner of his eye, _And there she is. Hmm. _He could see her through the crack of the door as she motioned to someone behind her.

Amaya stepped inside, a young boy in tow, "Hey, Deidara. Tobi." She grinned, "I bet my mother is having a fit right now, having all of you staying here." The girl sat across from him, pulling the boy forward, "This is my little brother, Toshi."

The boy stared at him with huge eyes, his mouth worked but no sound came out.

_Hrmph. _Deidara tried not to laugh, "Hey." _This kid was hanging around earlier._

Toshi blinked, "H-hello."

Deidara glanced to the side as Amaya stood, moving to the refrigerator, "He doesn't bite, Toshi." She said, pulling a bottle out of the frig, "How old is this juice?"

"It tasted fine." Tobi volunteered.

"Okay." She uncapped it, took a swallow, and shuddered, her eyes squeezing shut and her mouth pursing, "Sour.." She gasped, shoving it back to it's former place.

"That's been in there for several weeks." Toshi said, "Mom keeps adding more lemons to it."

"No wonder." Amaya said, pulling a chair back from the table and sitting, "That's not even lemonade."

_Their mom? She didn't seem the type. _Deidara shrugged, _Who knows? Hmm. _He watched the young woman, _But then... I didn't know anything about her when she first showed up... _A grin twitched at his mouth, _And now look at us._

"Deidara?" A hand appeared in front of his face.

"What?"

She raised an eyebrow, "That was the third time I said your name."

"Really?" _I didn't hear her at all. _He shrugged, "Sorry." He leaned back in his chair, "What is it? Hmm?"

She bounced in her chair, clasping her hands together, "I'm taking Toshi to meet everyone else, but..." She glanced to the side, "I was wondering if you could take us flying later?" Her words spilled over each other, tumbling from her mouth at an insane speed.

_Err... I think I got that. _He grinned, "Alright." He said, "But after you have to let me fly you back home. Hmm."

"..Home?" Her brow furrowed, "You mean..."

"Of course that's what I mean." The blond said, "What else would I be talking about?"

Her face reddened, "Okay..." She grabbed her brother, "We're going!"

"Whew..." Amaya trudged up the stairs, "That was tiring." She ran her hand along the rail as she climbed. _Especially when it came to Hidan... _

"Excuse me."

She paused, too tired to be startled, "Yes?"

A woman stepped away from the wall, "You're Amaya, aren't you?"

Amaya nodded, "Yep."

The woman smiled, "I'm Konan."

"Oh!" She straightened, "Are you part of Akatsuki?" She walked up the last few steps, still looking up at the woman even though they were on the same level.

"Yes." Konan replied, "I am one of the original members."

Amaya shuffled her feet, "Can I ask you something?"

The older woman raised an eyebrow, "Go ahead."

"How come you came if you didn't know me?" She frowned, "I mean, even Kakuzu came, and he doesn't like me."

Konan chuckled, "They've become accustomed to your presence." She said, "And I came because of Pain."

"Pain..?"

"Yes." The woman smiled, "I'll be going now." She said, "I'll see you at the party." She walked back down the hall, stepping inside one of the guest rooms. Amaya caught a muffled greeting before the door closed, _Was that Pain?_

She cocked her head, _ I wonder if they're... Ah well, _She shrugged, "Not my business." She turned, "I'm going back downstairs." _I don't know why but I'm suddenly bored. _She clomped back down the the steps, _I'll find someone to talk to._

"Amaya!"

_Huh? _Amaya looked up from her cup of tea, "Mom?"

Her mother sat across from her, "I had barbeque planned for tonight," She said, fanning herself worriedly, "Is that alright?"

Amaya sat up straight, "That's great!" She said, "I love that meal."

"I thought so." The older woman sighed in relief, "That's good... What about cake?" She pressed her hand to her mouth, "I don't have very much dessert wise..."

"Umm... Chocolate cake?" Amaya hazarded.

"Good!" Her mother perked upright, "Easy, and I have everything!" She stood, "I have to go." She hurried from the room, bumping into Deidara on her way out.

The blond frowned, "Was that..?"

"It was my mother." Amaya said, "Didn't you see her the other day? How come you're back down here?"

He shrugged, "Yeah, I saw her. But she acted completely different. And I was wandering the house and ended up back here. Hmm." He meandered around the room, stopping by the window and peering outside.

"She's bipolar." Amaya said.

"..Really?"

"Yup." She took a drink of her now cold tea, "Hrm..." She coughed, "Nasty... Oh, she's either like what she just was, or what you saw up in my room."

"I guess that's where you got it." He said, smirking.

_How did he know? _"Wh_at_?" She scowled, "I am not bipolar!" She drooped, "Well, maybe a little... Or that's what Dad said." She set the cup down, "It's not my fault..."

"I never said it was. Hmm."

Amaya sighed, pushing the cup around on the table, "This is not something I ever expected would happen..."

Deidara frowned at her, "What do you mean?" He asked.

"Well." She stood, walking over to dump the cold liquid in the sink, "I thought that I could run away from everything and they would give up on me." She joined him at the window, staring out at the wind-blown trees, "I certainly never expected to get to know all of you."

"...Do you wish you hadn't?"

_What..? That's ridiculous! Of course I don't wish that. _She turned, confused, "Why would I want that? I thought you said we were friends."

He looked away, "Well... Yeah."

"What's wrong..?" _He didn't seem to like me saying that.. _She frowned, _Maybe he doesn't think of me as a friend? _She swallowed, leaned against the window sill, _But..._

"I-"

She didn't get to hear what Deidara was about to say, at that moment, Tobi charged into the room, "Your mom wants you." He said, grabbing her arm, "Come on!" He yanked her out of the room behind him.

"Hey!" She stumbled after him as he dragged her down the hall, "Let go!"

"Amaya! There you are." Her mother rose from her chair, hurrying over to them, "Another one showed up!" She said, "And I thought you might know what to do with him."

"Another one?" Amaya repeated, _Why did he have to show up at that exact moment? Tobi has no sense of timing. _She sighed, _Now I'll probably never know what he was going to say..._

"Amaya?"

"Oh!" She jumped, "Y-yes?"

"Are you alright, dear?" Her mother pressed a hand to her forehead, "You look flushed."

Amaya shrugged, "Yeah... I'm fine." She glanced around the room, "So where is he?" She asked. _I'm not sure 'fine' is the best word._

"He went upstairs." Her mother said, "I'm not sure where he went after that."

"Alright..." Amaya left the room, headed for the stairway. She trudged up them, pulling herself along the railing, "I wonder what he was going to say..?" _I might never find out now. _She stopped, freezing in the middle of the hallway, "You're-!" _It's the plant guy!_

The man turned to face her, "Plant?"

_What? _Her face twisted in confusion, _He's different colors! _"You..." She swallowed, _And he has a plant on him... _"You're Zetsu... Right?"

"**Who else would I be?" **Zetsu asked, scowling.

_Wah! He's talking creepy! _She shivered, "Umm... I don't know."

"Leave her alone, Zetsu. Hmm."

Amaya stiffened at the voice that came from just behind her, _Deidara... _She slumped, _How can this be any more awkward? _

The blond stepped forward, visible when she looked from the corner of her eye, "Hey." He said, his voice quiet, "Can we talk?"

Amaya felt her face warm, _I don't know what to do! _"O-okay..." _I wish Itachi had said a bit more..._ A shiver ran up her arm as he grabbed her hand, pulling her after him, _Help!_

Deidara was silent as they made their way out of the house, walking around behind it. And the walk gave her time to think that she wished it hadn't.

He stopped behind the house, where no one else was around, and stood there, staring at his feet.

_What's going on..? _Amaya chewed on her fingernails, _This is going to drive me crazy! _Her eyes widened, _What if... I can't go back? _The thought bounced around inside her head, refusing to leave her alone.

"Amaya..."

"I want to go back!" She burst out, "I don't want to not be with you!" _I couldn't take it! _She squeezed her eyes shut, clutching her hands together, "Please..."

He was silent.

_I knew it... They don't want me back._

"You..."

She tensed, waiting for him to say it.

"You idiot!" He yelled, grabbing her shoulders. He shook her, "That... That's not what I was going to say..." His voice trailed off, his hands dropping back to his side.

"W-what?" Her hands rose to her mouth, her heart skipping a beat.

The blond shook his head back and forth, "I wanted to... tell you something." His shoulders slumped, "I..."

_What's going on..? _Her mind was spinning in circles, Amaya stared at him, unable to make sense any longer of what was happening around her, "You... did..?"

He was still, his eyes on the floor, "Do... you think of me as a friend? Hmm?"

_A friend... _She closed her eyes, _No... _She thought, _I don't. You seem like so much more than that... _Amaya opened her eyes, gazing at the blond, "No." She said, shaking her head firmly, "Or at least... That's not all I think of you as."

She saw the wince cross his face when she said 'no', then his head slowly rose as she continued until he was looking her in the eye, his visible blue eye wide, "Really..?"

Her face went hot, and if it was as red as his, she was crimson. She bit her lip, "Yes.." She said, tucking her hair behind her ear. Her heart was fluttering wildly in her chest, and it felt like adrenaline was pumping through her veins.

Deidara tilted his head to the side, "I... feel that way too. Hmm." He mumbled.

She felt her heart stop, before leaping, "Y-you do..?" _He likes me... _

The silence stretched, neither of them able to look at the other. Then the sound of running footsteps came from around the corner.

"Ama! Ama!" Toshi barreled around the corner, "Mom said to get you!" The boy didn't notice the tense atmosphere. He grabbed her shirt, tugging on it.

"We're coming." Amaya said, hearing her voice come out dazed.

Then they followed her brother back inside, still unsure as to what was supposed to happen next.

**Okay. First off, I don't know why I continue to torture myself trying to write romance. I'm terrible at it.**

**Second, thanks so much to my reviewer- Kakashi Forever!**

**Third... I had an extremely hard time getting this thing out on time! I haven't hardly had a chance to write what with cleaning the house for Thanksgiving... But I do believe I managed. **

**Hehehehehe...**

**Don't you love doing what you didn't think you could?**

**Everyone have a great Thanksgiving!**

**See ya.**

**~UndeadScribe~**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: I don't own Naruto, just the fic and the ocs.**

* * *

**I am so, so, so sorry... I really didn't mean to take this long to update.**

* * *

**Hopefully it was worth the wait.**

Amaya sat in the living room, listening to the bustle coming from the kitchen. She flopped back against the couch, "I wanna be in there too..."

"Haven't you had enough cooking?" Sasori stepped through a door, standing in the opening.

She looked up, "Not really," she said, "I'm going crazy not having anything to do."

The puppet-master raised an eyebrow, shook his head, and left.

_What strange people... _Amaya mused, picking at the cushion she was sitting on, "I don't think I'll ever understand them." _Or at least, some of them._ She pushed herself up off the couch, "I wonder where everyone else is..." She rambled around the room, her eyes returning to the kitchen door. "I'd better not." _Mom will kick me out again._

"Better not what?" A voice said behind her.

By now, she was used to the sudden appearances enough to not jump out of her skin every time it happened. Amaya turned, "Itachi?"

The Uchiha frowned, "What?"

She blinked, "You asked me a question."

"..."

She pressed her finger to her mouth, "Oh, right. Mom kicked me out of the kitchen so I had better not do it again." She took a breath.

His eyes flattened.

She scowled, "What?" _Oops. I just repeated what he said earlier._

He sat on the couch she had just vacated, ignoring her.

Amaya perched on the arm of a chair, "Do you like cake?" She asked.

"...Cake."

"Yep." She leaned forward, teetering on the edge of her seat, "Chocolate." She shifted her eyes to the ceiling, "I can smell it cooking..." _And I'm so hungry... _She thought, heaving a sigh.

"...I've never had it."

She fell off the chair. "What?" She cried, "You've never had cake?"

"Chocolate." He clarified.

"O-oh." She clutched her heart, "For a second I thought you meant you'd _never _had cake." She leaned against the base of the chair, "That would have been horrible." Amaya pulled her knees up, wrapping her arms around them, "You have to try some tonight." She stated firmly.

"...Fine."

_Oh! He actually agreed! _She grinned, "Good! I bet you'll like it."

"Hn." The Uchiha stood, grabbed her hand and pulled her to her feet, then turned and left the room.

Amaya dusted herself off, _Hn? I still don't know how to say that out loud. _She hugged herself, "At least everyone will be there." _I'm glad... It would have seemed wrong for them to not be here after everything that's happened._

"Amaya!"

Her head snapped up, "Mother?" She let out a long breath, "You scared me."

Her mother took her hand, pulling her up the stairs, "You are not having a birthday party dressed like that." The older woman said.

Amaya looked down at herself, "What's wrong with it?" She asked, "This is what I always wear."

"That is exactly my point."

"Oh."

"But I never wear floaty dresses! I'll look funny!" Amaya tugged at the sun dress, trying to settle it on her thin frame, "And it doesn't fit right."

Her mother took a step back, her finger tapping against her chin as she scrutinized the dress, "If I just do that..."

_Do what? _Amaya scowled, "I like my normal clothes."

"Nonsense." The older woman gestured to the dress, "Give it to me and I'll take it up."

Amaya grumbled as she did as she was told, quickly putting her regular short pants and quarter sleeve shirt back on. She left the room at twice her normal speed, almost falling down the stairs as she took them two at a time.

_I think I'm going to hide from Mom until everything is ready. _She thought, looking back over her shoulder, she winced, _Otherwise I'll have to try that dress on over and over again. _She swung around the end of the stairs, making a beeline for the front door.

She stepped outside; the sky was darkening, and the air that breezed against her face was cool, the sun having began it's descent and the moon hanging in the sky. She sat on the steps leading off the porch, leaning back on her elbows, _This is much better. _She decided, staring up at the sky.

She brushed back a tendril of brown hair, hooking it behind her ear, _Everything feels so much different out here. _She slid her feet over the grass, _So much more peaceful._

"There you are!"

"..." _I am going to ignore that _person, _he is very annoying. _

"Amaya!"

She half-closed her eyes, catching a blurred glimpse of him through her eyelashes. _Why is he even here? _She groused, _He did his job._

"_Hmm." Deidara studied her, "He said he was your 'sweetheart'. Man, he sounded lame."_

Amaya shot upright, "What?" _Agh! I completely forgot about that! _She leaped to her feet, "Listen!" She said, stabbing a finger against , "Nubao, I am not your 'sweetheart'! Got it? And I never will be!" She slammed one foot down on the first step, grabbing the rail, "So leave me alone!"

"But-"

"No buts!" She jerked the door open, "I don't even really know you!" She stalked inside, closing the door behind her, "Geez..."

"Amaaaaya!"

"Eep." She lunged for the stairs, "She's gonna kill me.."

"Do I have to?"

"Yes."

"..." She scowled, sulking, "Fine..." She muttered, slumping in defeat.

Her mother propelled her to the door, "Go." She said, "I'll be along in a minute."

_This isn't fair... I've never even worn a dress like this before. _Amaya trudged down the hall, _Not even my hair is normal. _She shuddered, _But at least she didn't try to curl it. _She ran her hands down the pale blue dress, "I guess it's not that bad..."

She glanced down at her feet, "Still no shoes." She said, laughing to herself.

Amaya paused, "I'm gonna go see Dad first." She turned, trotting back the direction she had come.

Deidara paced in a line across the living room, his feet scuffing over the carpet. _I thought she was supposed to be down here by now. _He looked over at the door, _Still not here._

"Sit down." Itachi said, looking up from his seat on the couch.

Deidara scowled, "Why?"

"You're wearing a rut in the floor." The Uchiha replied.

"Sorry! Sorry I took so long!" The door behind him opened, and she stepped into the room.

_...What? _Deidara stared at her, "A-Amaya?"

Her face crinkled into a scowl, "Of course." She fidgeted, "I'm just dressed different." She blushed as he continued to stare at her, "What?" She tugged on the dress she was wearing, "I know... I never dress like this, I probably look weird..."

He shook his head, snapping back to reality, "No! That's not what I meant."

"Really?"

Deidara shifted his gaze to the side, "You look very pretty..." He mumbled, his face warming.

"Oh." Her blush darkened, "Thank you..."

The room was silent. Deidara stared at the wall behind Amaya, and she fidgeted, shifting her weight from foot to foot.

"Is everyone here?" Amaya's mother stepped through the door, "Okay, other room." She said, "That's where we eat." She seemed oblivious to the atmosphere of the room, or how red her daughter looked.

Amaya managed a nod, "Y-yes, ma'am..." She followed her mother over to the door, glancing back over her shoulder at the Akatsuki as she stepped through, her eyes paused on him, then she ducked out of the room after the other woman.

Deidara stared after her, barely noticing the smirk Sasori sent him as he walked past, he moved after them, _Every time I try to say something, we get interrupted..._

Amaya braced her hands on the table, took a deep breath, and leaned forward; she blew out over the candles, grinning as they sputtered and died.

"Hah!" She exclaimed, smirking at her brother, "I got all of them!"

Toshi pouted, "Aw..."

"...What was that about?" Deidara asked, frowning in confusion.

"Well," she plucked the first candle out and sucked the icing off, keeping up a running conversation as she did the same to the rest of them, "He tries to put a trick candle on my cake every year, and I try to blow it out." She laid the candles out in a row, "And this time, I did."

"How do you blow out a trick candle?"

Amaya shrugged, "If you know which one it is, you can focus mainly on that one, which means that it's more likely to go out." She slid the cake over to her mother, "This time, I knew which one it was."

At the end of the table, her father was chuckling, "You should have seen her last year." He said, tipping his chair back, "She was huffing and puffing so hard she couldn't breathe anymore."

Amaya blushed, "It wouldn't go out." She protested, "No matter what I did!"

"Yeah!" Toshi chimed in, "We had to stop her from dumping water on it she got so mad at it."

Deidara laughed, "Really?" _I wish I could have seen that. _

Akemi slid a plate to her daughter, "I have pictures." She said, "I should show them to you sometime."

"M-mom!" Amaya slapped her hands to her face, "Don't do that!"

"I would like that." Deidara said, grinning at Amaya's horrified expression.

"Sure you would." Sasori muttered, just loud enough that the blond could hear him.

Deidara did his best to ignore him, instead starting a conversation with Toshi that had Amaya trying to keep her little brother from giving away any of her embarrassing secrets.

She waited to start eating until her mother had handed a slice to everyone, and Deidara noticed her staring at Itachi as he went to take a bite, _Hmm? What's she doing?_

"So..." She leaned forward, "Do you like it?"

The Uchiha looked up, his blank expression twitching at the corners as he swallowed the bite. He suddenly looked uncomfortable, noticing that every eye was on him; he coughed, "It... is very sweet."

Kisame snorted, "Which probably means he likes it."

Amaya sat back with a satisfied smile, "You'd be crazy not to." She said, stabbing a bite of cake.

The rest of the Akatsuki began eating as well, and Deidara found himself trying not to laugh as he looked around the table, _We're eating cake at a girl's birthday party, and even our leader is here. _He glanced down at the ginger-haired man, _And we're a criminal organization. _He shook his head, _Never in a million years did I think this would happen. Hmm..._

Amaya leaned back in her chair, "Now what?" She asked, "Since we've done pretty much everything..."

Her parents exchanged looks, then her mother smiled, "You get to stay one more night, then you can go back in the morning."

"Oh..." She sat upright, _Right... _"Okay." _I don't want this day to end anymore... _She looked around the room, at her family, and the Akatsuki. _It seems perfect having everyone here._

"Don't worry." Deidara said, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"You will be able to see them whenever you wish." Itachi said, looking back at her from the door.

She stared at them, then swiped her hand over her eyes, smiling, "Right."

"Amaya?"

She looked up, pausing as she pulled the covers back, "Itachi?" She walked to the door, opening it, "Is something wrong?"

The Uchiha shook his head, "No." He said, "But I believe that you should speak to Deidara," he stepped back, "after all, your last conversation was interrupted." He turned, "He's downstairs."

Amaya watched him disappear down the hall, _What's gotten into him..? He doesn't usually do things like this. _She stepped out into the hallway, closing the door behind her, "But since he did... I feel like I should."

The house was already dark as she made her way downstairs to the living room, "I don't see him..." She frowned, _Maybe he went back upstairs..? _She glanced around the room, "Or... Maybe he's outside." She tip-toed to the door and cracked it open, peering outside, _There he is._ She paused, _But what am I supposed to talk to him about? _She scowled, _Why aren't you more helpful, Itachi?_

She slipped outside, creeping across the porch to stand behind him, _Hmm. If I say anything I'll probably startle_ _him._

"What are you doing out here?"

She flinched, "Eep!" She covered her mouth with her hand, "Don't scare me like that." She scolded, moving to stand next to him.

"Sorry."

She turned to look at his profile, "Are you okay?"

The blond glanced over at her, "Yeah..." He said, "I was just thinking."

She leaned against the railing, "About what?" She asked, propping her chin on her fist.

"..." He was quiet for several minutes, "I was just glad that you're still coming back with us."

_Is that what he was worried about? _She straightened, "Of course I'm coming back." She said, "Why wouldn't I?"

Deidara shrugged, "You seemed happy." He said.

_I was... But only because they were all there as well. _Amaya turned to face him, "I was happy because everyone was there." She said, "It wouldn't be the same without all of you." She blushed, mumbled, "Especially you." _I wish I knew what he was thinking._

A smile quirked the corner of his mouth, "Really?"

"Y-yeah..."

He pushed away from the rail, turning in her direction, "I can bring you here whenever you want." He said, "We can go flying anytime."

Amaya stared at him, a strange sensation fluttering through her, "Thank you." She said, leaning her shoulder against him.

They stood there for several minutes, she wasn't sure how long, then he sighed, "Time to go inside." He said, taking her hand. She followed him to the door, and he paused again, looking down at her.

She met his eyes, _What's he doing? _

Then he leaned down and kissed her.

Amaya gasped for air as her mother gave her a bear-hug, "Just make sure you visit." The older woman instructed, leaning back to look her in the face.

Amaya smiled, "All the time." She promised. _After all... _She glanced over her mother's shoulder, _I have Deidara to take me. _She released her mother, moving over to get the same treatment from her father, "I'll see y'all soon," she said, hugging her father.

"You better." He said, letting her go.

She crouched in front of her brother, "You'll have to come over sometime." She told him, "I think you'd like it." She wrapped her arms around him, squeezing him tightly, "Next time, I'll try to write my letters where you can read them."

His arms tightened around her waist, "Okay."

Amaya stood, turning to the Akatsuki, "I'm ready." She said, walking over to them.

Deidara nodded, "Let's go," he said, and took her hand, helping her up onto the bird. She pulled herself the rest of the way up and waited for him to climb up; he sat at the front of the bird and looked back at her, "You ready?" He asked quietly.

She looked back at her family, then up at him, "...Yes." She said, and scooted over to sit behind him, wrapping her arms around him.

This time, he didn't complain.

She leaned over to the side as the bird lifted off the ground, waving to her family as they shrank into the distance. _It looks like I have two homes now. _

Amaya looked around, _And more friends then I ever thought I'd have. _She thought, glancing to the other Akatsuki members. She leaned her forehead against Deidara's back, smiling, "And something more."

His hand covered hers, even though she didn't think he actually heard what she said.

Then they were flying home.

* * *

**Again, I apologize. It's just... First we had a second Thanksgiving, then I was trying to figure out Christmas presents for my family (That's like TEN presents, getting one for everyone.) and I had writer's block...**

**I could spout excuses 'till Kingdom come... But I guess I'll stop there.**

**I think there will be one more chapter and that will be it...**

**One more thing.**

**It is not supposed to get down to 25 bloody degrees at night in Texas when it's only DECEMBER! That doesn't usually happen until late January.**

**If someone spouting 'global warming' talks to me, I will laugh in their face.**

**~UndeadScribe~**


	10. Chapter 10

**The last chapter. Hopefully worth the wait... **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters therein. I only own this fanfic and any ocs.**

_Several weeks later..._

"Not again!"

Deidara looked up as a crash came from the kitchen, followed by her voice, _What happened this time? Hmm? _The blond stood, making his way to the other room, "Amaya?" He stepped inside, "Are you alright?"

She looked up from where she was crouched on the floor, "I..." She sniffed, "I broke something else!" She wailed, "I just keep running into everything!"

_Erm... _He took another step forward, "It's okay," he said, "it's not like it was anything important." He crouched next to her, resting his hand on her shoulder, "It's nothing to worry about."

The young woman shook her head, "I'll clean it up." She said, "I don't know what's wrong with me." She began picking up the jagged pieces of ceramic from the floor, putting them in a pile.

Deidara grabbed her hand, "Careful." He said, "You don't want to hurt yourself. Hmm." He scooped the pieced into a pile, "There you go."

She stared down at the pile, "If this keeps up, there wont be any dishes left."

The blond sighed, "Come on, Amaya," he said, "it really is fine." He helped her up off the floor, "Everyone does this kinda thing. Hmm." He lead her out of the kitchen, "Is this because your family is visiting?" He asked, leaning down to look in her eyes.

Amaya frowned, "I don't know.." She said, "But that might be it." She tilted her head to the side, "Kakuzu was mad at me."

"Kakuzu is always mad about something." Deidara retorted, "Ignore him."

She managed a wobbly smile, "Okay."

"Right," he took her hand, "you go rest, I'll clean up."

She nodded, strands of light brown hair falling forward into her face, "Alright..." Her bottom lip trembled slightly as she spoke, and he winced, "Look..." He reached out, smoothing her hair back, "After I'm done, we'll go on a walk."

"That sounds nice..." She said, looking up at him, "I'll go then..."

She stood, and trudged out of the kitchen with her head drooping.

Deidara stared after her, _She really is worried about something. Is it because her family is visiting? _The blond absently cleaned up the broken ceramic, _Maybe she's worried that they wont like where she lives... _He frowned, scanning the room, _Well, that wouldn't make any sense. Hmm... She made this place look much better._

He clambered to his feet, "I better go find her..." He said aloud, walking out of the kitchen.

She wasn't in the living room, and neither was any one else. _Hmm... Maybe her room?_ He turned, making his way down the hall to her room, opening the door, he was met with a familiar barrage of color.

She had brought much of the stuff from her former room with her when they came back, and it was now scattered around this room.

The girl he was looking for though- was not in the room.

Deidara scowled, _Where is she? _He looked around the room, _Maybe she's waiting outside..?_ He turned, "It didn't take that long, where could she have gotten to? Hmm?"

Deidara turned in a slow circle, scanning the surrounding hills, _She isn't out here either. _He frowned, trying to see through the deepening gloom, "Where is she?"

"I haven't seen her either."

The blond turned, "Hmm... That is kind of odd."

Itachi glanced back at the front door, "I have not been inside recently."

Deidara sighed, "That's where _I _came from." He started walking anyway, "I'm checking again. Hmm."

The Uchiha followed him in silence, and the next minute, they were standing in front of the couch that had given them such trouble what seemed like so long ago.

Deidara cocked his head to the side, "Did you hear something?" He asked, glancing around the room. _I thought I heard someone move... _He took a step closer to the couch, listening. _There it was again. _He crouched, leaning down and balancing on one knee, and looked under the couch.

"...Amaya?" He pressed one palm to the floor, shaking his hair from his face as it fell forward, "...Are you okay?"

She curled in on herself, "...Go away." She mumbled, burying her face in her arms.

_Is she crying? _He frowned, his eyes darting up to Itachi. The Uchiha looked as confused as he felt, dropping to one knee and doing the same as he had just done- looking under the couch.

"Whatcha doing?"

Deidara didn't turn to meet the man's eyes as he spoke, "We were looking for Amaya." He said, "And we found her."

Hidan voice sounded like he was frowning, "Under there? What for?"

_No idea... _"If I knew that," he said, "I wouldn't be having so much trouble. Hmm."

"You found her?" Sasori stepped into the room, walking over to them.

"Yeah..." Deidara turned his attention back to Amaya, reaching his arm out and touching her shoulder, "Amaya?"

She tensed, "What?"

_She has been crying. _"What is it?" The blond asked, "I told you the jar wasn't important."

"I know..." She said, "But..." One of her hands moved, rubbing her eyes, "Someone ate all the cookies... And then I broke the jar and you had to clean it up and-"

"Whoa!" Deidara said, "I didn't _have _to clean it up, I wanted to help you." He put his arm on the seat of the couch, holding himself up, "And you don't have to do everything by yourself."

She was silent, remaining curled in a ball; then large brown eyes peered out at him, "I'm sorry," she said, "I know that..."

_She really freaked out for some reason. _He held his hand out to her, "Come on," he said, "come out from under there."

Amaya hesitated, then her hand slipped into his, and she allowed him to pull her out. She crawled out without any difficulty, sitting on the floor, her head drooping, "Sorry." She said, still clutching his hand.

Deidara sighed, "Amaya..." He reached a hand out, tipping her chin up, "What's wrong?"

She frowned, looking down at his hand, "It's stupid," she muttered, "but all of my family are neat freaks... and I didn't want to disappoint them..." Her body slumped, "I want them to like it here."

_That's what all this is about..? _Deidara glanced around the room, "I think you've done more than enough." He said, "This place looks better then it _ever _has."

Amaya followed his gaze, "...Really?"

"That's what I said. Hmm." He stood, pulling her to her feet, "And if you need something done, just ask one of us." He gestured around the room, "You know we'll help."

She stared around the room. Her eyes widening farther as they stopped on each face.

Hidan was standing right behind the blond, his scythe still on his back after whatever he had been doing. Sasori stood off to the side, his arms crossed; Kisame was leaning against a wall, scowling, and Kakuzu stood in the doorway.

Tobi leaned over the back of the couch, and waved at her when she noticed him. Pain was sitting in the armchair, and one eyebrow quirked when he saw her stand.

Itachi stood, and she looked up at him, then back around the room, "You..." She blushed, clasping her hands together tightly, "Thank you..." She said, "I'm okay now."

Deidara grinned, "Good." He said, "And now you're coming with me."

* * *

The night was cool, and Amaya walked closer to the blond as they turned to head home; he looked down, his smile just visible, "If you aren't careful, I'll trip over you." Despite what he was saying, he tightened his arm around her shoulders.

Amaya looked up at the sky, watching the stars as more and more of them appeared. "This is really nice..." She said, turning and wrapping both arms around the blond's waist, "Thank you."

She buried her face against him as he returned the embrace. _I feel really ridiculous for acting that way now... _She thought, _but I do feel better._

"At last, the opportunity I have been searching for."

Amaya jerked her head to the side in the same moment that Deidara shifted so that she was behind him, "Nubao?" She said, incredulity keeping her from silence.

The ninja took a side-long step, moving closer, "You will be coming with me." He said, "Right after I kill him."

Deidara laughed, "Yeah, right!" He scoffed, "Neither of those will ever happen! Hmm."

Amaya looked up at the blond, only able to see his back, "Dei-chan..." _He's protecting me... _

He froze, "Huh?"

She squeaked, burying her face in his back, "Nothing!" _Oops. I didn't mean to say that out loud... _

The blond coughed, "Anyway," he said, turning his attention back to the other man, "get lost. She's staying right here. Hmm."

Nubao laughed, pulling a handful of shuriken from his pouch, "I'm afraid that is not how this is going to work." He fanned the shuriken out in his hand, readying his arm to throw, "She is coming with me."

_Why wont he just leave me alone? _Amaya thought, _It's been several weeks since I told him to stop bothering me... I thought maybe he had actually listened. _The young woman frowned, "Nubao, just forget it. I'm never going with you."

The ninja managed a nonchalant shrug, "So you say."

Deidara turned with the man as he tried to circle around, "You heard her. Hmm."

The man chuckled again, something that was beginning to grate on her nerves, "I heard her very well," he said, "but it makes no difference."

"Why are you following her around anyway?" Deidara asked, "I thought you worked for her family."

Nubao shrugged, "I do." He said, "But I also work for myself."

"What the heck does that mean?"

The other ninja stopped in place, "I met her when her family first hired me." He said, "She was much younger when we first met. And at first, she seemed more like a little sister."

"Yeah, until you became an obsessive jerk." Amaya shot back.

The man sighed, "I would hardly call me obsessive." He said, "I was merely trying to get to know you better."

"You _followed_ me." The young woman said, "And you wouldn't leave me alone."

"I see I have no choice." The ninja again readied himself to fight, "Since you insist on seeing things in that manner."

"Ugh." The blond cupped his hands together; Amaya glanced around him, _I know Deidara could never lose to him... But still... _She paused as a thought struck her, _I wonder if he hasn't killed him because of me..? _A frown tugged at the corners of her mouth, _After all, he's had plenty of opportunities..._

Nubao froze, his eyes glazing over. The shuriken dropped from his hand, clattering against each other as they fell to the ground; then his body crumpled in a boneless heap to the dirt.

"Huh?" Amaya stared, stepping around Deidara, "What happened?"

The blond was already turning, peering through the night, "Itachi happened."

She followed his gaze, "Itachi?"

The Uchiha stepped out of the darkness, walking up to them, "He wont bother you anymore."

"Did... you-?"

"No."

"Oh..." _They've all had the opportunity. And yet none of them have killed him. _Amaya breathed a sigh of relief, "What _did _you do?"

Itachi turned, walking back in the direction he had come, "He wont remember you."

_Wont remember me? _She frowned, looking up at Deidara, "Did he use Sharingan on him?"

His blue eyes dropped to meet hers, "Yeah. He did."

She walked over to the ninja, crouching down by him, "And he wont remember?"

Deidara shook his head, "Nope." The blond walked over to stand beside her, "He wont remember a thing. He wont be bothering you anymore."

_Never...? _Amaya stood, _I wont have to worry about him anymore...?_ She turned, grabbing Deidara's hand, "Come on." She said, "Let's go inside."

He nodded, a smile crossing his face, "Alright."

"I'll put him somewhere." Sasori materialized in front of them.

_Are they trying to kill me? _Amaya clutched Deidara's sleeve, "They're going to kill me..." She muttered, "I'll just drop dead."

The blond chuckled, steering her toward the front door, "You'll be fine." He said, "I'll look out for you." He paused, "Though, against death by fright, I'm not sure what I can do. Hmm."

She giggled, "That might happen to both of us."

"What do you mean?"

Amaya hugged his arm, "Sori-chan and Tachi-chan told me that they're always doing that to you."

He blinked, "Sori... and Tachi?"

She blushed, "I can't help it. I like shortening people's names..."

He looked bemused, "Right.."

_The next morning..._

Amaya stepped out of her bedroom and headed down the hallway, her feet scuffing over the wooden floor as she shuffled along, rubbing sleep from her eyes. _I think I slept too long... _She thought, "Probably 'cause I went to bed late..."

She sighed, brushing her hair from her face. _Last night... _She frowned, slumped, _I freaked out over nothing and then Nubao showed up again... _She turned the corner, her shoulder brushing it, _But... now he'll never bother me again. _Amaya grinned, fully awake, "I almost forgot..."

"Hey, Amaya."

She looked up, finding herself standing in the kitchen. "Oh." _I must have walked in here through habit. _

Deidara looked up from the table, "Are you alright? Hmm?"

Amaya smiled, "Yep. I'm completely fine now." She walked over to stand beside him, "What are you doing?"

"Err..." He looked away, his face reddening, "Making breakfast...?"

_He's making breakfast? _She blinked in surprise, sitting in one of the chairs, "You didn't have to do that." She leaned forward, "It wouldn't have taken me that long to cook eggs."

Deidara tilted his head back to look at her, "I wanted to." He said, "Didn't I explain this yesterday?"

"Oh, right." She smiled, "Is there anything I can help with?"

Itachi stepped into the kitchen, "No."

She stared, "Eh?" _He's doing it too?_ Amaya watched as the two men went back to their tasks, _This is very odd... I wonder why they're suddenly doing this... _She rested her chin on her hand, _It's very sweet though..._

"So..." Deidara was grinning, the corner of his visible eye crinkling, "Did you know that she thinks of you as 'Tachi-chan'?"

_Urk! _She blushed, _Why did he do that?_

The Uchiha didn't turn to face them, continuing on with what he was doing as if he hadn't heard. The blond chuckled, "The best way to deal with it is to ignore it, hmm?"

Itachi managed to communicate a death-glare without ever looking at Deidara.

"Thank you." Amaya smiled at them, "Both of you."

Deidara grinned, shrugging. Itachi acknowledged her with a silent tilt of his head. The blond leaned over the table, kissed her, and stepped back.

"Just sit back," he said, "and let us do something to help you."

"Amaya?"

She looked up as her door creaked open, "Tachi?" _Whoops. _"Sorry. What is it, Itachi?"

The Uchiha's eyes drifted past hers, "I don't care." He said, then took another step into the room, "Deidara mentioned something and asked if I would do it."

_He doesn't mind being called 'Tachi'? _Amaya blinked, "What did he mention?"

Itachi frowned, brushing loose strands of black hair from his face, "Your fingernails." He said, then stood there, waiting.

"My... fingernails?" She lifted her hand, examining them, "What about them?"

"He said you wanted them painted."

"Ohh..." _He remembered. _She smiled down at the mattress, "Yeah..."

He was silent.

Amaya quirked her mouth in puzzlement, "What is it?"

His eyes flattened, "Did you listen to anything I said?" He pulled a small bottle of nail-polish from somewhere and looked at her.

"Hmm?" She leaned forward, "Is that...? Oh!" She blushed, "I'm sorry... I don't know why I didn't catch that..." She glanced down at her bed, "Should I sit on the floor?" She smoothed the blanket out, "That way nothing gets on my bed?"

"That's fine."

She slid off the bed, sitting cross-legged on the floor. Itachi sat down across from her, unscrewed the cap, and lifted one eyebrow at her. _Umm... _She frowned, then put one of her hands out.

He took it, bending his head over her hand as he applied the polish.

"What's Dei-chan doing?"

"...Watching."

_Watching? _"...He's still in the kitchen?"

"Hm."

_I don't think he's paying much attention to what I'm saying. _Amaya thought. _I thought that they were just making breakfast... but they kicked me out after breakfast and told me that they still had stuff to do._

"...You know, my family is coming over today."

He nodded, but his eyes remained on what he was doing.

Amaya sighed, trying to watch as Itachi applied the nail-polish. _I wonder when they'll be here... _

"Hey, Itachi. You done?" Hidan poked his head into the room, "'Cause her family's here."

"...Just a minute." The Uchiha muttered.

_I guess that answers that question._ She thought, blowing on the fingernails of one hand as he finished with the other.

A moment later, he sat back, "Done." He said, and screwed the cap on, climbing to his feet; he walked to the doorway.

"I'll be along in a minute." She blew on the nails of her other hand, "Thank you, Tachi." She smiled up at him.

"...You're welcome."

"Hi!" Amaya threw her arms around both of her parents, almost knocking them over backwards. Toshi was right behind them, and he received the same treatment. He was almost squeezed to death by his sister.

She led them all to the dining room, gesturing to the table, "You can sit anywhere you want," she said, "and they should be in here soon."

On cue, the room was suddenly filled with all of the Akatsuki members, except Itachi and Deidara.

Amaya tugged on Sasori's sleeve, "Where-"

"Kitchen." The redhead replied, "They'll be here in a minute."

"Oh. Okay." Amaya wondered over to the table, straightening the chairs out as everyone sat, _Sometimes I would swear that they are psychic._ She pulled out a chair, _I can't even get in the kitchen right now... They barred me from entering... _

"Amaya?"

_Oops. _She looked up, "What is it?"

Her mother frowned, "I asked if you've been working too hard."

"No." She gave a little smile, looking down at her nails, "In fact... They did practically everything today..."

"Really?" Her father glanced around the room, "All of them?"

"Yep." Amaya walked over to the door, "Dei... Deidara and Itachi are in the kitchen right now."

"What do you think you're doing? Hmm?" Deidara stepped through the door, carrying a pot, "Shoo. Go sit down."

She took a step back, "Hmph. Fine." She peered at the pot, not moving, "Is that...?"

He grinned, "Haha... I figured you'd recognize it."

Itachi appeared behind the blond and managed to walk around them both, "Put it down before you drop it."

The blond grumbled, then did exactly as the Uchiha said, moving over to place the food on the table.

The table that night was noisy. And cheerful; Amaya had to laugh as she ate the food that so long ago she had made from the little that the Akatsuki had had in their cupboard.

And when she met Deidara's eyes over the table, and smiled at him, she realized that having her family- her _whole _family- under one roof, was the best thing that could have ever happened to her.

**The End.**

**A/N: Well... I finally got it out. Finally. Please, please, don't kill me... After all, this was the last chapter, and I should be allowed a little bit of leeway, right?**

**Anyway, that's that. I hope everyone enjoyed this. **

**And thanks once again to Kakashi forever, (You are awesome.)**

**Until the next time.**

**(Whenever that may be...)**

**And a belated Happy New Years!**

**~UndeadScribe~**


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